ARXPS investigation of diffusion as a limiting process in the incorporation of adatoms into polystyrene surfaces treated by nitrogen plasmas

Polystyrene films were exposed to nitrogen plasmas for periods up to 4 min. ARXPS measurements revealed the presence of oxygen and nitrogen in the surface because of the plasma treatment. The depth profiles of these adatoms were determined by fitting a Thomas–Windle model profile to the data. As found previously, the best‐fit depth profiles resembled a step function, consistent with case II diffusion. However, the depth of penetration of the adatom species into the polymer surface was not found to vary with plasma duration, which is inconsistent with Case II diffusion, and provides evidence that diffusion processes do not limit the loading of adatom species into the surface during nitrogen plasma treatment. A possible reason for the generation of erroneous step function depth profiles is discussed. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Nonequilibrium effects in diffusion of interacting particles on vicinal surfaces

We study the influence of nonequilibrium conditions on the collective diffusion of interacting particles on vicinal surfaces. To this end, we perform Monte Carlo simulations of a lattice-gas model of an ideal stepped surface, where adatoms have nearest-neighbor attractive or repulsive interactions. Applying the Boltzmann-Matano method to spreading density profiles of the adatoms allows the definition of an effective, time-dependent collective diffusion coefficient D(C) (t)(theta) for all coverages theta. In the case of diffusion across the steps and strong binding at lower step edges we observe three stages in the behavior of the corresponding D(xx,C) (t)(theta). At early times when the adatoms have not yet crossed the steps, D(xx,C) (t)(theta) is influenced by the presence of steps only weakly. At intermediate times, where the adatoms have crossed several steps, there are sharp peaks at coverages theta<1L and theta>1-1L, where L is the terrace width. These peaks are due to different rates of relaxation of the density at successive terraces. At late stages of spreading, these peaks vanish and D(xx,C) (t)(theta) crosses over to its equilibrium value, where for strong step edge binding there is a maximum at theta=1L. In the case of diffusion in direction along the steps the nonequilibrium effects in D(yy,C) (t)(theta) are much weaker, and are apparent only when diffusion along ledges is strongly suppressed or enhanced.     

On the different adsorption behavior of bismuth,sulfur, selenium and tellurium on a Pt(775) stepped surface

The deposition behavior of sulfur, selenium, tellurium and bismuth on the Pt(775) surface has been studied by cyclic voltammetry. It has been found that bismuth and tellurium deposit preferentially on the step sites. Once the step sites are fully covered by these adatoms, the deposition on the terrace starts. Conversely, step decoration cannot be achieved with sulfur and selenium. For these adatoms, the deposition takes place preferentially on the terrace. The different behavior of the adatoms is related to differences in their electronic properties.     

Atomistic mechanisms for the (1 x 1) <==> hex surface phase transformations of Pt(100)

The atomistic mechanisms and dynamics of the (1 x 1) --> hex surface reconstruction of the clean Pt(100) and its lifting upon CO adsorption have been studied by means of both density functional theory and molecular dynamics simulations based on the modified embedded-atom method. It was found that during the surface reconstruction from the square (1 x 1) to the approximately 20% more dense (quasi)hexagonal phase, the required extra atoms are extracted from the second layer, leaving highly mobile subsurface vacancies, even in the presence of adatom islands or steps. These vacancies will, by surface diffusion, coalesce to form steps. In contrast, during the reverse process--where the hex surface reconstruction is lifted upon adsorption of CO--the roughly 20% excess surface atoms are in a collective manner ejected to form chains of adatoms. In turn, these adatoms coalesce into islands and steps by surface diffusion. A result of the two totally different mechanisms is that the reconstruction process can be concluded not to be the reverse of the deconstruction process.     

Effect of coverage and defects on the adsorption of propanethiol on Au(111) surface: a theoretical study

Periodic density functional calculations have been carried out to investigate both the thiol adsorption on Au(111) surface and the reaction mechanism for the formation of the self-assembled monolayers, taking propanethiol as a representative example. The effect of coverage and surface defects (adatoms and vacancies) has been analyzed. It is found that the most stable physisorption (undissociated) site is an adatom site, whereas the chemisorption site for the thiol is a vacancy site or protrusion consisting of a pair of adatoms, followed by one adatom site. The results point out that the thiolate self-assembled monolayer adsorption process occurs preferentially on step edges.     

Surface Electromigration Patterns in a Confined Adsorbed Metal Film: Ga on GaN

The mass transport of gallium adatoms in a confined gallium bilayer on GaN(0001) is studied with photoelectron spectromicroscopy with the goal to identify the diffusing species and their lateral distribution during directional surface electromigration and/or ”random” thermal diffusion. It has been found that only the gallium atoms from the second layer undergo biased diffusion involving formation of three‐dimensional islands. The development of different gallium concentration patterns is described by means of a general model, considering the presence of vacancies and trapping centres for the diffusing atoms.     

Pneumatochemical impedance spectroscopy. 2. Dynamics of hydrogen sorption by metals

In this paper, pneumatochemical impedance spectroscopy is used to analyze multistep reaction mechanisms such as those observed in solid solution domains of LaNi5-H2(g) systems. It is shown that hydrogen sorption is a two-step mechanism including (i) dissociative surface chemisorption of molecular hydrogen and (ii) atomic hydrogen bulk transport by diffusion. Data fitting of experimental transfer functions with model equations yields the value of the kinetic parameter associated with each individual reaction step, i.e., surface sorption resistances and hydrogen bulk diffusion coefficients. The technique is used to follow the activation procedure of the sample as well as the degradation of sorption properties in oxygen-containing hydrogen atmospheres. A decrease in sorption kinetics is attributed to surface oxidation, whereas bulk properties remain unchanged. The perspectives offered by the technique which potentially can be used to optimize surface and bulk composition of IMC for increased sorption rates are discussed.     

A study of surface diffusion of ternary (Cu-Ag-Zr) adatoms clusters for applications in thin film formation

This study presents the diffusion of heterogeneous ternary (Cu-Ag-Zr) adatoms clusters on Ag(111) using molecular dynamics techniques which could be important for the surface phenomena's and helpful for the ternary cluster's growth and formation of ternary alloy-based thin films. The mechanism of nanoscale surface diffusion is investigated for 1Cu-1Ag-1Zr, 2Cu-2Ag-2Zr, 3Cu-3Ag-3Zr, and 4Cu-4Ag-4Zr clusters at temperatures 300, 500, and 700 K. The diffusion mechanism displays that the diffusion of trimer cluster exhibits hopping, sliding, and shearing at 300 K, whereas for hexamer, nonamer, and decamer, the diffusion rate is low; however, breathing, anchoring, and concentrated motion dominates. At 500 K, trimer and hexamer show the process of atomic exchange; however, the atomic exchange is not observed in the case of nonamer and decamer diffusion. The atomic exchange mechanism of Cu and Zr adatoms dominates at 700 K for all size clusters, except Ag adatoms, where Zr adatoms show a relatively more tendency. Separation and rejoining of the one and two adatoms (likely Zr adatom) are also witnessed at high temperature. The pop-up of Ag adatoms also occurs in very short intervals over the remaining adatoms of clusters. Interestingly, during trimer diffusion, the adsorption of the Zr- or Cu-adatom among the trimer cluster into the substitutional site is found. At 700 K, vacancy generation, filling of vacancies, and migration of vacancy, in the neighborhood of the adatoms cluster, also observed. Moreover, the rate of diffusion decreases with the size increase of the clusters and increases with the increase in temperature.     

氢原子在金属锂表面台阶附近吸附和表面扩散行为的ab initio研究

取Li7H和Li9H两个原子簇模拟氢原子与含台阶的金属锂表面的相互作用, 以小基组用ab initip方法计算了体系的吸附和表面扩散势能面(或势能曲线)。结果表明: (1)对Li7H体系, 台阶面附近沿垂直边棱方向存在三种不同的桥位吸附位, 最稳定的吸附位在上台面接近台阶边棱处, 台阶面显著地改变了表面扩散活化能, 台阶边棱处有一个较高的势垒。于是, 迁移原子将会在台阶边棱处受到反射, 并可被捕获于台阶面上及其附近。由势能面确定了最低能量表面扩散途径。(2)对Li9H体系, 在Li7H原子簇基础上增加次表面层两个锂原子后, 表面扩散活化能略有减小, 氢原子在上台面的桥位吸附更趋稳定, 各吸附位相对稳定性及势垒内何位置几无改变, 这些结果显示了台阶面对氢原子的化学吸附和表面扩散发生扰动, 台阶边棱对表面扩散起着重要作用。     

Computer simulation of crystallization kinetics and morphology in fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites. II. Three-dimensional case

A three-dimensional computer simulation has been used to predict crystallization kinetics and crystalline morphology in composite materials that are based on crystallizable thermoplastics. Reinforcing fibers in three-dimensional simulations show similar behavior to those in two-dimensional simulations; fibers suppress crystallization relative to an unreinforced polymer since they constrain spherulitic growth by an impingement mechanism, and also enhance crystallization by providing added surface nucleation sites. The effects of varying controlling parameters on crystallization kinetics and morphology are qualitatively the same as those observed in the two-dimensional case. The relative bulk and fiber nucleation denisities, in addition to the fiber volume fraction, fiber diameter, and spherulitic growth rate control the crystallization kinetics and crystalline morphology that develop in reinforced thermoplastic composites. It is more difficult to achieve the transcrystalline morphology in slices of three-dimensional composites than it is in two-dimensional composites because nuclei in 3-D systems are not constrained to positions in or near a 2-D plane. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Characteristics of high efficiency dye-sensitized solar cells

Impedance spectroscopy was applied to investigate the characteristics of dye-sensitized nanostructured TiO2 solar cells (DSC) with high efficiencies of light to electricity conversion of 11.1% and 10.2%. The different parameters, that is, chemical capacitance, steady-state transport resistance, transient diffusion coefficient, and charge-transfer (recombination) resistance, have been interpreted in a unified and consistent framework, in which an exponential distribution of the localized states in the TiO2 band gap plays a central role. The temperature variation of the chemical diffusion coefficient dependence on the Fermi-level position has been observed consistently with the standard multiple trapping model of electron transport in disordered semiconductors. A Tafel dependence of the recombination resistance dependence on bias potential has been rationalized in terms of the charge transfer from a distribution of surface states using the Marcus model of electron transfer. The current-potential curve of the solar cells has been independently constructed from the impedance parameters, allowing a separate analysis of the contribution of different resistive processes to the overall conversion efficiency.     

Couple axial gradients of potential and concentration in a cylindrical pore electrode: an impedance model

The impedance of a cylindrical pore electrode in the case where the potential gradient due to the electrolyte resistivity is coupled to the axial concentration gradient of reacting species has been calculated semi-analytically from the approximate solution reported previously for the steady-state concentration and current profiles in the pore. Complex plane impedance plots, computed by an iteration technique for the transmission line, indicate: (i) a quasi-semi-circular diffusion loop at low frequencies due to diffusion control; and (ii) a high frequency loop in which the frequency dispersion is strongly dependent on the electrode parameters (electrolyte resistivity, diffusion coefficient of the reacting species, pore depth, Tafel coefficient of the electrochemical reaction and overall current flowing through the pore).     

Determination of the Kinetic and Thermodynamic Parameters of Adsorption Processes by a Volume Step Thermal Method

A volume step method measuring the pressure and the adsorbent temperature of an adsorbent-adsorbate system has been developped. It is shown that this method allows the determination of all the relevant parameters of an adsorption process, kinetic as well as thermodynamic in case of Linear Driving Force mass transfer. The method for determining the parameters can be extended to the case of diffusive mass transfer if the mass transfer kinetics is faster than the heat transfer kinetics. An example is given, showing the determination of the diffusion coefficient of carbon dioxide in NaX zeolite pellets and the change of the diffusion coefficient and of the isosteric heat of adsorption when the adsorbent is not fully dehydrated.     

Indirect adsorbate-adsorbate interactions mediated by quasi-one-dimensional surface electronic states

We have studied the screening properties of quasi-one-dimensional electronic states which may arise in the troughs of reconstructed (110) surfaces of some fcc metals (Ni and Cu) as chain states localized in the direction perpendicular to the troughs. Motivated by the analysis of the experimental data on the H/Ni(110) system, we discuss the indirect interaction between two H adatoms which is mediated by such states. Using first a linear model of screening of impurity potentials we show that such interaction should exhibit long range oscillations which scale as d⁻¹ for large distances d between the adatoms. By fitting this result to the experimental data available for the H/Ni(110) system we found that a relatively large shift η_a was required to describe these oscillations. This has lead us to use a nonlinear model for the screening of adatoms, based on the Anderson Hamiltonian of impurity screening. This approach yields an indirect interaction between two adatoms which is regular for all d and behaves asymptotically as ˜ cos[2k_Fd − 2η_a(εF)/d where k_F is the Fermi wavevector at the metal surface. The physical significance of the parameters of the model derived thereof can be interpreted in the context of incomplete screening of H adatoms by quasi-one-dimensional electronic chain states existing on the substrate surface.     

La0.8Sr0.2MnO3/YSZ电极氧电化学还原反应动力学

用线性极化、循环伏安、电位阶跃等方法详细研究了Ｌａ０．８Ｓｒ０．２ＭｎＯ３／ＹＳＺ高温电极上进行的氧化学还原反应。实验结果表明，该反应存在两条路径：低温下氧还原反应主要发生在气相－ＬＳＭ电极－ＹＳＺ电解质接触的三相界面（ＴＰＢ），速度控制步骤为氧原子在ＬＳＭ表面的浓差扩散，高温下由于氧空位在ＬＳＭ表面的形成，氧还原反应区扩展至ＬＳＭ电极表面，速度控制步骤为氧的电荷转移反应，实验同时发现：氧空位的形     

Adsorption and diffusion of Mg, O, and O2 on the MgO(001) flat surface

A thorough investigation of the adsorption and diffusion of Mg, O, and O(2) on MgO(001) terraces is performed by first-principles calculations. The single Mg adatom weakly binds to surface oxygens, diffuses, and evaporates easily at room temperatures. Atomic O strongly binds to surface oxygens, forming peroxide groups. The diffusion of the O adatom is strongly influenced by the spin polarization, since energy barriers are significantly different for the singlet and triplet states. The crossing of the two Born-Oppenheimer surfaces corresponding to the distinct spin states is also analyzed. Although the O(2) molecule does not stick to the perfect surface, it chemisorbs on surface nonstoichiometric point defects such as O vacancies or Mg adatoms, forming in the latter case new chemical species on the surface. We show that the oxidation rate limiting factor in an O(2) atmosphere is the concentration of point defects (O vacancies and Mg adatoms) in the growing surface. The simulated O core-level shifts for the various adsorption configurations enable a meaningful comparison with the measured values, suggesting the presence of peroxide ions on growing surfaces. Finally, the computed energy barriers are used to estimate the Mg and O surface lifetimes and diffusion lengths, and some implications for the homoepitaxial growth of MgO are discussed.     

Influence of the specific surface area on crystallization process kinetics of some silica gels

The influence of the specific surface area on the crystallization processes of two silica gels with different specific surface areas has been investigated in non-isothermal conditions using DTA technique. The activation energies of the crystallization processes were calculated using four isoconversional methods: Ozawa-Flynn-Wall, Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose, Starink and Tang. It has been established that, the decrease of the surface area from S=252.62 m² g⁻¹, in the case of sample GS2, to S=2.52 m² g⁻¹, in the case of sample GS1, has determined a slight increase of the activation energy of the crystallization process of the gels. Regardless of the isoconversional method used, the activation energy (E _α) decreases monotonously with the crystallized fraction (α), which confirms the complex mechanism of gels crystallization. It has been proved that the Johnson-Mehl-Avrami model cannot be applied for the crystallization processes of the studied silica gels.     

A comparison of the effects of chemisorbed sulfide ions on the electrochemical behavior of gold and silver in thiourea electrolytes

It is shown that, in the case of gold, the catalytic activity of sulfur adatoms is significantly higher in the anodic dissolution of metal than in its deposition. In both processes, the catalytic activity increases with increasing overvoltage. The catalytic activity of sulfur adatoms is considerably lower for silver than for gold both in the metal deposition and dissolution, and it is virtually independent of overvoltage. In the case of silver, the catalytic activity of sulfur adatoms in the electrodeposition is slightly higher than in the metal dissolution. There results are compared with the action of heavy metal adatoms on the dissolution and deposition of gold and silver in the cyanide solutions. It is shown that the above regularities are qualitatively true for both systems. The main distinction is that the catalytic activity of sulfide ions in the thiourea solutions reaches a plateau with increasing surface coverage with sulfur adatoms, whereas the activity of heavy metals passes through a maximum with increasing surface coverage. The results are explained in view of earlier determined regularities of kinetics of electrode processes in these systems and the effect of electrocatalysis on these regularities.     

KDP晶体台阶生长动力学的激光干涉实验研究

采用迈克尔逊干涉技术,通过测量KDP晶体生长的法向速率和台阶斜率来研究其台阶生长的动力学系数、台阶自由能、溶质在边界层内的扩散特征以及激发晶体生长台阶的位错活性.实验表明, KDP中不同活性位错的台阶动力学系数差异较大,例如高活性和低活性台阶动力学系数分别为10.3×10-2和5.21×10-2 cm/s,位错源在晶体表面的形状、面积的变化,以及Burgers矢量的变化是造成晶体生长动力学测量数据重复性差的主要原因.     

Ab initio study of epitaxial growth on stepped Si(100) surface

Diffusion of a Si adatom over the reconstructed Si(100) surface with a single-height step on it is studied using the pseudopotential total energy method. The S_B rebonded step is shown to act as a good sink for adatoms descending onto the lower ledge. This is due to the presence of deep traps on the lower terrace and to the negative Ehrlich-Schwoebel barrier (the activation barrier for descent from the edge is 0.23 eV lower than for the motion on a flat surface). The diffusion characteristics of the adatom on both terraces are virtually unaffected by the presence of the step. However, the dimer buckling sequence on a lower terrace is strongly dependent on the position of the adatom along the diffusion path. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.