The influence of boron content on electroanalytical detection of nitrate using BDD electrodes

Electrochemical response of nitrate reduction was analyzed using Boron Doped Diamond (BDD) films grown with different boron levels and it was correlated with the electrode physico-chemical properties. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and contact angle measurements showed the evolution of oxygen content and the weattability associated to the chemical surface modification as boron content increase in such films. Raman spectroscopy showed that the broad peaks at 1220 and 500 cm⁻¹ become more evident with the boron addition. Electrochemical measurements by square wave voltammetry for nitrate reduction showed a strong dependence between the doping level of the BDD film and the nitrate detection. BDD film grown with B/C ratio of 20,000 ppm presented the best sensibility to low concentration of nitrate. This result was analyzed from the linear relationship between the peak currents as a function of the nitrate concentration. This behavior was attributed to the changes in the diamond surface chemical and the film grain size.     

Electroless deposition of copper and fabrication of copper micropatterns on CVD diamond film surfaces

Electroless deposition of copper on as-grown and amino-modification diamond substrates was investigated. The compact and uniform copper films were successfully electrolessly deposited on as-grown and amino-modification diamond substrates after activation by Pd/Sn colloid nanoparticles. The adhesion interaction between copper films and diamond substrates was roughly estimated by the ultrasonic treatment. The results showed the higher adhesion interaction between copper films and amino-modification diamond substrates than that between the copper films and as-grown diamond substrates due to the greater attractive force between the Pd/Sn colloid nanoparticles and amino-modified diamond surface. The favorable copper micropatterns were successfully constructed on diamond film surfaces by means of the catalyst lift-off method and the copper lift-off method. Furthermore, the electrochemical behavior of copper-modified boron-doped diamond (BDD) was studied for glucose oxidation in 0.2 M sodium hydroxide solution by using cyclic voltammetry, and the result indicated that copper-modified BDD exhibited high catalytic activity to electrochemical oxidation of glucose in alkaline media.     

Influence of boron carbide on properties of CVD-diamond thin films at various deposition pressures

Microcrystalline boron-doped diamond (BDD) films are synthesized on the silicon substrate by the hot-filament chemical vapor deposition method under the gas mixture of hydrogen and methane in the presence of boron carbide (B₄C) placed in front of filaments. The observed results of scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction show the morphologies. Microstructures for various deposition pressures of as-grown diamond films are found to be dependent on the change of deposition pressure. These results reveal that with the increase of deposition pressure, resistivity decreases and increase in the grain size is noted in the presence of B₄C. Resistivity shows a sudden fall of about three orders of magnitude by the addition of boron in the diamond films. This is due to the crystal integrity induced by B-atoms in the structure of diamond in the presence of B₄C. These results are also significant for the conventional applications of BDD materials. The effects of deposition pressure on the overall films morphology and the doping level dependence of the diamond films have also been discussed.     

Diamond deposition with plasma jet at reduced pressure

Carburizing and diamond deposition experiments were done on titanium, niobium, and molybdenum substrates with argon-methane-hydrogen gas mixture plasma jets at a pressure of 200 torr for various hydrogen concentrations. Diamond deposition was obtained at a volume of 7% hydrogen added to the plasma jet. The deposits were markedly different on the different metal substrates. Diamond deposits with habit planes were clearly observed on niobium and molybdenum, while the deposit on titanium consisted of ball-like particles. The emission spectra from the plasma jet were the same, for all the substrates, proving that the difference in the diamond deposit depends on the substrate characteristics. CH, C₂, hydrogen, and carbon atoms were identified in the plasma jet. The difference in the deposits is attributed to the reactivity of carbon species in the plasma with the metal surface as well as to the solubility of hydrogen in metals     

等离子体诱导碳纳米管到纳米金刚石的相变

采用氢等离子体，实现了碳纳米管向金刚石的结构相变，并实现了金刚石的高密度成核，有效成核密度可达10\+\{11\}／cm\+2以上，处于目前金刚石成核密度的最高行列，为制备优质的金刚石薄膜提供了保证.高分辨透射电镜、x射线衍射和拉曼光谱都证实了金刚石的形成.同时，对纳米金刚石晶粒的生成机理进行了初步探讨. 关键词： 等离子体 碳纳米管 纳米金刚石 结构相变     

Application of BDD thin film electrode for electrochemical decomposition of heterogeneous aromatic compounds

The aim of the presented study is to investigate the applicability of electrochemical oxidation of aromatic compounds containing heteroatoms, e.g. waste from production of pesticides or pharmaceutics, at a borondoped diamond (BDD) electrode. The BDD electrodes were synthesized by microwave plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (MW PE CVD). Investigation of the electrode surface by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) confirmed that the synthesized layer was continuous and formed a densely packed grain structure with an average roughness of less than 0:5 ??m. The influence of important electrochemical parameters: current density, kind of reactor, pH or mixing operation, on the efficiency of the oxidation was investigated. The fouling of electrode??s surface caused by the deposition of organic material was observed during CV and galvanostatic experiments. At low current density the oxidation rate constant k was low, but the current efficiency was relatively high. The BDD can be used successfully to remove heterogeneous aromatic compounds existing either as molecules or cations. During 4 h of electrolysis 95% of aromatic compounds were electrochemically decomposed to mineral forms. It was observed that the influence of the initial pH on mineralization was marginal.     

Anodic oxidation of anthraquinone dye Alizarin Red S at Ti/BDD electrodes

The boron-doped diamond (BDD) thin-film electrode with high quality using industrially titanium plate (Ti/BDD) as substrate has been prepared and firstly used in the oxidation of anthraquinone dye Alizarin Red S (ARS) in wastewaters. The Ti/BDD electrodes are shown to have high concentration of sp³-bonded carbon and wide electrochemical window. The results of the cyclic voltammetries show that BDD has unique properties such as high anodic stability and the production of active intermediates at the high potential. The oxidation regions of ARS and water are significantly separated at the Ti/BDD electrode, and the peak current increases linearly with increasing ARS concentration. The bulk electrolysis shows that removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and color can be completely reached and the electrooxidation of ARS behaves as a mass-transfer-controlled process at the Ti/BDD electrode. It is demonstrated that the performances of the Ti/BDD electrode for anodic oxidation ARS have been significantly improved with respect to the traditional electrodes.     

Surface modification of titanium membrane by chemical vapor deposition and its electrochemical self-cleaning

Membrane separation is applied widely in many fields, while concentration polarization and membrane fouling, limiting its promotion and application greatly, are the bottlenecks in membrane application. Among which, membrane fouling is irreversible, membrane must be periodically cleaned or even replaced to restore permeability. Membrane cleaning has become one of the key issues in membrane separation areas. Considering incomparable electrochemical advantages of boron-doped diamond (BDD) film electrode over conventional electrode, a new composite membrane Ti/BDD, made by depositing CVD (chemical vapor deposition) boron-doped diamond film on titanium(Ti) membrane to modify porous titanium surface, that can be cleaned electrochemically is proposed. Feasibility of its preparation and application is discussed in this paper. Results shows that based on the unique electrochemical properties of diamond, cleaning level of this composite Ti/BDD membrane is significantly increased, making membrane life and efficiency improved prominently.     

Copper reduction and hydroxyl formation by hydrogen process in alumino-silicate glasses

The process of nanometric copper (Cu⁰) precipitation by hydrogen in alumino-silicate glasses was studied regarding the simultaneous formation of hydroxyl bonding. Firstly, copper-ion-doped alumino-silicate glasses were melt-quenched and then heat-treated in the presence of hydrogen gas, which allowed copper ions to be reduced into nanometric metal particles. Along with the metallic copper formation, there was also formed the hydroxyl groups as a byproduct of the reaction. From spectroscopic studies, it was revealed that the reduction process was kinetically controlled by the hydrogen diffusion into the glasses. After the Cu⁰ precipitation, in particular, at temperatures higher than 700 °C or for reduction times longer than 5 h the copper metal was found to move towards the surface, creating a copper metal rich surface. Moreover, an increase in hydrogen permeation with the treatment time was also observed and this tendency was more intense for the matrix, which allowed higher copper reduction.     

W过渡层结合界面对金刚石薄膜在WC-6%Co上的附着力的影响

 在微波等离子体化学气相沉积装置中,采用负偏压形核等方法,研究两种不同的W过渡层/基体结合界面对金刚石薄膜与WC-6%Co附着力的影响。采用氢等离子体脱碳、磁控溅射镀W、高偏压碳化等方法,在YG6衬底表面形成化学反应型界面,W膜在碳化时和基体WC连为一体,极大地增加了W膜与基体的附着力,明显优于直接镀钨、碳化形成的物理吸附界面。在高负偏压下碳化,能提高表面粗糙度,增加膜与基体机械钳合,而负偏压形核增加核密度,从而增加膜与基体的接触面积,结果极大地提高了金刚石薄膜的附着力。     

Oxidation of the hydrogenated diamond (100) surface

The surface composition and structure of natural diamond (100) surfaces subsequently oxidized with activated oxygen at T_sub≤35°C were investigated with high-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy (HREELS), Auger electron spectroscopy, electron loss spectroscopy (ELS) and low-energy electron diffraction (LEED). Complete surface oxidation (oxygen coverage θ=1 ML) required doses of hundreds of kilolangmuirs of O₂. HREELS vibrational spectra permitted identification of the specific surface oxygen species, and also provided information about the diamond surface states. Most surface sites lost their hydrogen at least once before becoming oxidized. The oxygen coverage θ increased quickly at first, and then more slowly as saturation was approached; different mechanisms or sites may have accounted for the decreased rate. The relative distribution of oxygen species varied with the oxidation conditions. Ether, carbonyl and hydroxyl groups appeared during the initial stages of oxidation, but the hydroxyl groups disappeared at higher coverages. Bridge-bonded ether groups dominated at saturation coverage, although smaller amounts of carbonyl and hydroxyl were still observed. The carbonyl and C---H stretch frequencies increased with oxygen dose due to formation of higher oxidation states and/or hydrogen bonding between adjacent groups. ELS revealed only a low concentration of C=C dimers on the oxidized surfaces, and no evidence of graphitization.

Surfaces generated by oxygen addition and then desorption were more reactive than surfaces generated by hydrogen desorption. Oxidized surfaces that were heated in vacuum and then rehydrogenated did not recover the sharp LEED patterns and HREELS spectra of the original plasma-smoothed surface. This effect was presumably due to surface roughening caused by oxygen desorption as CO and CO₂, and creation of reactive high-energy sites that quickly bonded to available background gases and prevented large areas of organized surface reconstruction.     

Influence of the Particle Morphology on the Activity of Nanometer Platinum Aerosol Catalysts

For nanoparticle agglomerates, the catalytic activity may depend strongly on their structure. The influence of different parameters such as agglomerate structure, primary particle temperature history and surface preconditioning on the catalytic activity of nanoparticles was investigated. The fraction of agglomerate surface contributing to the reaction depends on the agglomerate structure and on the velocity of the reaction under investigation. For extremely fast reactions such as the oxidation of hydrogen on Pt nanoparticles, only the outermost surface (exposed surface) contributes substantially to the formation of water. For the system investigated here, the inner surface not substantially contributing to the reaction accounted for at least 70% of the total particle surface as determined from oxygen presaturation experiments of the agglomerate surface. A considerable activity loss of the platinum particles was observed on preheating the nanoparticle agglomerates. The preheating leads to an increase in the nanoparticle size by an order of magnitude due to sintering. It is unclear if this activity reduction is due to changes in the particle surface state or to a real size effect of the nanoparticles.     

Generation of Large‐Area Highly‐Nonequlibrium Plasma in Pure Hydrogen at Atmospheric Pressure

Diffuse Coplanar Surface Barrier Discharge (DCSBD) is a novel type of atmospheric‐pressure plasma source developed for high‐speed large‐area surface plasma treatments. Basic characteristics of DCSBD operated in pure atmospheric‐pressure hydrogen were measured using optical and emission spectroscopy methods, and its potential for the surface treatment application was demonstrated by hydrogen plasma reduction of Cu₂O thin layers. The discharge generates a thin layer of diffuse non‐equilibrium plasma with a high power density of 70 Wcm^–3. The mean electron density and electron temperature derived from spectroscopic data were 1.3 x 10¹⁶cm^–3 and 19 x 10³K, and the surface Cu₂O layers forming a weak boundary were reduced to metallic copper within several seconds. (© 2014 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Wettability and Surface Energy of Hydrogen-and Oxygen-Terminated Diamond Films

The contact angle and surface energy values of diamond are systemically investigated in terms of surface treatments(hydrogen-and oxygen-terminations), structure feature(single crystal diamonds and polycrystalline diamond films), crystal orientation((100),(111) and mixed(100)/(111) orientations), different fluids(probes of polar deionized water and nonpolar di-iodomethane). It is found that the hydrophobic/hydrophilic characteristic and surface energy values of diamond are mainly determined by the surface hydrogen/oxygen termination, and less related to the structural features and crystal orientation. Based on the contact angle values with polar water and nonpolar di-iodomethane, the surface energies of diamond are estimated to be about 43 m J/m~2 for hydrogen-termination and about 60 m J/m~2 for oxygen-termination. Furthermore, the varying surface roughness of diamond and fluids with different polarities examined determine the variation of contact angles as well as the surface energy values. These results would be helpful for a more detailed understanding of the surface properties of diamond films for further applications in a broad number of fields, such as optical and microwave windows,biosensors, and optoelectronic devices, etc.     

Boron-doped diamond synthesized by chemical vapor deposition as a heating element in a multi-anvil apparatus

ABSTRACT

We tested boron-doped diamond (BDD) synthesized by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) as a heating element in a multi-anvil apparatus. We succeeded in manufacturing BDD into a tubular shape by laser cutting and electric discharging machining. The BDD tube shaped by the electric discharging machining was contaminated by discharging electrode materials (Mo and W), which affected the heating performance. The laser-cut BDD tube has a clean surface and, therefore, had a good heating performance. We succeeded in generating temperature as high as 2670?K at a pressure around 30?GPa with laser-cut heater. Heating reproducibility was confirmed through repeated heating and cooling cycles. The recovered sample shows that a higher temperature generation above 2670?K was prevented by eutectic melting of ZrO₂ thermal insulator and Al₂O₃ sample. Owing to the commercial availability with a reasonable price, CVD–BDD heaters are more practical than a high-pressure synthesized BDD heaters for wide applications.     

高气压MPCVD沉积金刚石的光谱研究

采用微波等离子体化学气相沉积方法(microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition, MPCVD)在高沉积气压(34.5 kPa)下制备多晶金刚石,利用发射光谱(optical emission spectroscopy, OES)在线诊断了CH₄/H₂/O₂等离子体内基团的谱线强度及其空间分布,并利用拉曼(Raman)光谱评价了不同O₂体积分数下沉积出的金刚石膜质量,研究了金刚石膜质量的均匀性分布问题。结果表明：随着O₂体积分数的增加,C₂, CH及H_α基团的谱线强度均呈下降的趋势,而C₂,CH与H_α谱线强度比值也随之下降,表明增加O₂体积分数不仅导致等离子体中碳源基团的绝对浓度下降,而且碳源基团相对于氢原子的相对浓度也降低,使得金刚石的沉积速率下降而沉积质量提高。此外,具有刻蚀作用的OH基团的谱线强度却随着O₂体积分数的增加而上升,这也有利于降低金刚石膜中非晶碳的含量。光谱空间诊断发现高沉积气压下等离子体内基团分布不均匀,特别是中心区域C₂基团聚集造成该区域内非晶碳含量增加,最终导致金刚石膜质量分布的不均匀。     

Optical properties of nanodiamond layers

Thin ultradisperse diamond (UDD) layers deposited from a water suspension are studied by optical and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The effective band gap determined by the 10⁴-cm^?1 criterion for ozone-cleaned UDD is 3.5 eV. The broad structureless photoluminescence band (380–520 nm) is associated with radiative recombination through a system of continuously distributed energy levels in the band gap of diamond nanoclusters. The optical absorption of the material at 250–1000 nm originates from absorption on the disordered nanocluster surface containing threefold-coordinated carbon. The surface of UDD clusters subjected to acid cleaning contains nitrogen-oxygen complexes adsorbed in the form of NO ₃ ^? nitrate ions. Annealing in a hydrogen atmosphere results in desorption of the nitrate ions from the cluster surface. The evolution of the oxygen (O1s) and nitrogen (N1s) lines in the XPS spectra under annealing of a UDD layer is studied comprehensively.     

Low-pressure plasma cleaning of Au and PtIr noble metal surfaces

The effect of low-pressure hydrogen and oxygen plasma cleaning of Au and PtIr was investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Hydrocarbon contamination was efficiently removed by hydrogen and oxygen plasma. Hydrogen plasma additionally reduces oxygen compounds, especially metal oxides, while oxygen plasma results in the formation of a surface layer of Au₂O₃ and PtO, respectively. Both noble metal oxides are unstable and decompose with time. The decomposition of metal oxides occurs in parallel with the recontamination of the surface. Metal oxides can be removed completely for Au and partially for PtIr by an additional cleaning with hydrogen plasma. Hydrogen plasma treatment is very promising for noble metal surface cleaning.     

The co-adsorption of oxygen and hydrogen on Rh(111)

The co-adsorption of oxygen and hydrogen on Rh(111) at temperatures below 140 K has been studied by thermal desorption mass spectrometry, Auger electron spectroscopy, and lowenergy electron diffraction. The co-adsorption phenomena observed were dependent upon the sequence of adsorption in preparing the co-adsorbed overlayer. It has been found that oxygen extensively blocks sites for subsequent hydrogen adsorption and that the interaction splits the hydrogen thermal desorption into two states. The capacity of the oxygenated Rh(111) surface for hydrogen adsorption is very sensitive to the structure of the oxygen overlayer, with a disordered oxygen layer exhibiting the lowest capacity for hydrogen chemisorption. Studies with hydrogen pre-adsorption indicate that a hydrogen layer suppresses completely the formation of ordered oxygen superstructures as well as O₂ desorption above 800 K. This occurs with only a 20% reduction in total oxygen coverage as measured by Auger spectroscopy.     

高压烧结镀Cr、Ti膜金刚石/铜复合材料热导率研究

 采用磁控溅射方法,在金刚石表面镀覆活性金属Cr膜和Ti膜,在高温高压下合成了镀活性金属膜金刚石/铜复合材料。实验发现,活性金属的加入增强了金刚石与铜界面间的结合强度,减少了界面热阻,提高了复合材料的热导率。复合材料热导率随着金刚石体积分数的增加而降低,随着金刚石的粒度增大而提高。这主要是由界面热阻引起的,可以通过增大金刚石粒度和改善界面状态来提高复合材料热导率。