New carbon structures in annealed carbon–cadmium film coatings

Carbon–cadmium alloy film coating solid solutions coexisting with amorphous carbon are for the first time obtained via ion-plasma sputtering and the codeposition of ultrafine particles of the above elements onto moving substrates. The concentration boundary of the existence of carbon solid solutions in cadmium is found to be a total carbon content in the coating of 63.5 at % (15.66 wt %). Upon the vacuum heat treatment of carbon–cadmium films with a carbon concentration of more than 57.5 at %, almost total evaporation of cadmium occurs with the formation of an amorphous carbon coating. During annealing at 1100°C, the amorphous carbon is found to crystallize into a new phase with a hexagonal primitive lattice and the parameters а = 0.6405 and с = 0.7828 nm. The face-centered cubic (fcc) phase of carbon with the lattice parameter а = 0.4265 nm is recorded in the nanocrystalline formations. The behavior of the initial film coating components during heating in vacuum is assumed, as well.     

Surface and interfacial morphologies of PAN-CVI carbon–carbon composite

Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), polarized light microscopy (PLM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques have been used to characterize the normal surface and flank surface microstructure of a polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based carbon fiber reinforced chemical vapor infiltrated (CVI) matrix carbon–carbon composite. Optical and SEM results indicate that the CVI deposit consists of two structures: an isotropic phase is present in the fiber bundle-bundle junctions and a second highly oriented lamellar structure is present in the intrabundle matrix. TEM shows that matrix platelets are highly parallel to the fiber axis and the crystallites of the matrix near the fiber surface exhibit better alignment than those farther away from fibers.     

Inspection on SiC coated carbon–carbon composite with subsurface defects using pulsed thermography

An investigation on SiC coated carbon–carbon (C/C) composite plates has been undertaken by pulsed thermography. The heat transfer model has been built and the finite element method (FEM) is applied to solve the thermal model. The simulation results show that defects with DA/DP smaller than one can hardly be detected by an infrared camera with the sensitivity of 0.02 °C. Certificated experiments were performed on the built pulsed thermography system. The thermal wave signals have been processed by subtracting background image method (SBIM), pulsed phase thermography (PPT), and temperature–time logarithm fitting method (TtLFM). The limit DA/DP of defects in SiC coated C/C composite plates with the thickness of 6 mm that can be detected by pulsed thermography with the presented signal analysis algorithms has been obtained.     

Photoformation of π mesons in carbon

A calculation is made of the total cross section of the¹²C(,^–)¹²N reaction as a function of the energy of the quanta, by means of the technique of nonrelativistic diagrams, which permitted the differential cross sections of this reaction and the electroexcitation of the 15.11-MeV level in¹²C to be directly related. For the amplitude of the photocreation of-mesons in the nucleons we take the relativistic- and gradient-invariant expression, which follows from the model of the algebra of currents with physical pions. An analysis is made of the effect of the contributions of (1232) resonance and vector mesons to the amplitude, and also the different choice of the reaction kinematics in the nucleon.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 9, pp. 46–50, September, 1979.     

Superconductivity in σ-type carbon compounds

The problem of the superconductivity of σ electrons in compounds with a honeycomb structure has been analyzed. The equations of superconductivity and the phase diagram have been obtained under the assumption that the Hubbard energy is the largest energy parameter.     

Modified π-states in ion-irradiated carbon

CVD polycrystalline diamond film, pulse laser-deposited (PLD) carbon film and highly oriented pirolitical graphite (HOPG) as reference, were modified by means of Ar⁺ ion bombardment and characterized by means of Raman scattering, transmission electron microscopy, electron-diffraction (TEM), reflected electron energy loss specroscopy (REELS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) techniques. It was found that the diamond was transferred to a carbon with halo-like morphology and disordered stack of graphene segments. Instead of the well-known electron energy loss peak of graphite at 6.5 eV, a new REELS peak appeared at 4-5 eV energies. The observed effect was explained by the modification of π-system in carbon films as a consequence of the formation of non-planar, nanometer-sized graphitic planes.     

Effective Route to Graphitic carbon Nitride from Ball-Milled Amorphous carbon in NH3 Atmosphere Under Annealing

Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) powders were successfully synthesized from ball-milled amorphous carbon under NH3 atmosphere at high temperature, for the first time to the best of our knowledge. The combined charac-teristic data obtained by x-ray diffraction, high-resolution transmission-electron microscopy, electron energy losss pectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopic analysis, and Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy provide substantial evidence for the graphite-like sp^2-bonded structure with C3N4 stoichiometry.     

Decreasing the electromagnetic observability of carbon fiber polymer–matrix composites by using epoxy-coated carbon fibers

The electromagnetic observability of epoxy–matrix composites containing continuous carbon fibers was decreased by using epoxy-coated carbon fibers. The attenuation of electromagnetic waves at 1.0–1.5 GHz upon reflection was increased from 1.3 to 1.7 dB, while the attenuation upon transmission was decreased from 30 to 24 dB. The effect is attributed to the decreased transverse electrical conductivity of the composite due to the epoxy coating. The epoxy coating caused the tensile strength and modulus of the composite to decrease by about 10%, while the elongation at break was not affected.     

Quality of horizontally aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes: Is methane as carbon source better than ethanol?

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) growth of horizontally aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) was studied using two representative carbon source sources: ethanol and methane. The resulting SWNTs were compared for similar reaction conditions which were based on the formation of Ni metal nanoparticles selective electrochemical deposition (SED) on the defect sites of SWNTs. The products were analyzed by Raman spectroscopy and SEM. The results demonstrate that methane was much better carbon source for growing high quality horizontal alignment of SWNTs than ethanol due to the etching effects of OH radicals on the SWNTs.     

Intrinsic stress analysis of sputtered carbon film

Intrinsic stresses of carbon films deposited by direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering were investigated. The bombardments of energetic particles during the growth of films were considered to be the main reason for compressive intrinsic stresses.The values of intrinsic stresses were determined by measuring the radius of curvature of substrates before and after film deposition.By varying argon pressure and target-substrate distance,energies of neutral carbon atoms impinging on the growing films were optimized to control the intrinsic stresses level.The stress evolution in carbon films as a function of film thickness was investigated and a void-related stress relief mechanism was proposed to interpret this evolution.     

Shell Coupling Through a Single Multiwall carbon Nanotube

Transport properties of single multiwall carbon nanotubes at high bias voltages have been investigated in vacuum by scanning the bias voltage at room temperature. The characteristics of current-voltage exhibit a rapid increase of current, which can be well understood in terms of the density of states and multi-shell coupling. The breakdown experiment shows that the inner shells also contribute to conductance and can break at the bias voltage higher than that of the outer shells. This demonstrates that multi shells participate the transport. It is also found that the breakdown occurs at the centre of the MWNT, indicating that the transport is diffusive rather than ballistic.     

Spin-orbit effects in carbon nanotubes – Analytical results

We report a study of the normal and superconducting state properties of the Ti _x V_1?x alloys for x = 0.4, 0.6, 0.7 and 0.8 with the help of dc magnetization, electrical resistivity and heat capacity measurements along with the electronic structure calculation. The superconducting transition temperature T _c of these alloys is higher than that of elemental Ti and is also higher than elemental V for x ≤ 0.7. The roles of electron density of states, electron-phonon coupling and spin fluctuations in the normal and superconducting state properties of these alloys have been investigated in detail. The experimentally observed value of T _c is found to be considerably lower than that estimated on the basis of electron density of states and electron-phonon coupling in the x = 0.4, 0.6 and 0.7 alloys. There is some evidence as well for the preformed Cooper pair in all these Ti-V alloys in the temperature regime well above T _c . Similar to x = 0.6 [Md. Matin, L.S. Sharath Chandra, R.K. Meena, M.K. Chattopadhyay, A.K. Sinha, M.N. Singh, S.B. Roy, Physica B 436, 20 (2014)], the normal state properties of the x = 0.4 alloy showed the signature of the presence of spin fluctuations. The difference between the experimentally observed T _c and that estimated by considering electron density of states and electron-phonon coupling in the x = 0.4, 0.6 and 0.7 alloys is attributed to the possible influence of these spin fluctuations. We show that the non-monotonous variation of T _c as a function of x in the Ti _x V_1?x alloys is due to the combined effects of the electron-phonon coupling and the spin fluctuations.     

Stable isotope mass balances versus concentration differences of dissolved inorganic carbon – implications for tracing carbon turnover in reservoirs

The aim of this study was to identify sources of carbon turnover using stable isotope mass balances. For this purpose, two pre-reservoirs in the Harz Mountains (Germany) were investigated for their dissolved and particulate carbon contents (dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), dissolved organic carbon, particulate organic carbon) together with their stable carbon isotope ratios. DIC concentration depth profiles from March 2012 had an average of 0.33 mmol L^–1. Increases in DIC concentrations later on in the year often corresponded with decreases in its carbon isotope composition (δ¹³C_DIC) with the most negative value of –18.4?‰ in September. This led to a carbon isotope mass balance with carbon isotope inputs of ?28.5?‰ from DOC and ?23.4, ?31.8 and ?30.7?‰ from algae, terrestrial and sedimentary matter, respectively. Best matches between calculated and measured DIC gains were achieved when using the isotope composition of algae. This shows that this type of organic material is most likely responsible for carbon additions to the DIC pool when its concentrations and δ¹³C_DIC values correlate negatively. The presented isotope mass balance is transferable to other surface water and groundwater systems for quantification of organic matter turnover.     

Improved mechanical properties of carbon fiber reinforced PTFE composites by growing graphene oxide on carbon fiber surface

The mechanical properties of carbon fiber reinforced polymer composites depend upon fiber-matrix interfacial properties. To improve the mechanical properties of ?bers/PTFE composites without sacri?cing tensile strength of ?bers, graphene oxide (GO) was introduced onto the surface of CFs by chemical vapour deposition (CVD). This hybrid coating increased the wettability and surface roughness of carbon fibers, which led to improved affinity between the carbon fibers and PTFE matrix. The resulting hybrid-coated carbon fiber-reinforced composites showed an enhancement in the short beam strength compared to un-coated carbon fiber composites. Meanwhile, a signi?cant increase of interlaminar shear strength (ILSS), interface shear strength tests (IFSS) and impact property were achieved in the 5-min-modi?ed CFs.     

Nanoporous carbon microspheres as matrix of sulfur to prepare sulfur/carbon cathode material for lithium–sulfur battery

A high specific surface area (2798.8 m² g^?1) of nanoporous carbon microsphere (NPCM) is prepared by activated carbon microsphere in hot CO₂ atmosphere, which is used as matrix material of sulfur to prepare NPCM/sulfur composite cathode material by a melt-diffusion method. The NPCM/sulfur composite cathode material with the sulfur content of 53.5% shows high discharge capacity; the initial discharge capacity is 1274 mAh g^?1 which maintains as high as 776.4 mAh g^?1 after 50 cycles at 0.1 C current. At high current density of 1 C, the NPCM/sulfur cathode material still shows initial discharge capacity of 830.3 mAh g^?1, and the reversible capacity retention is 78% after 50 cycles. To study the influence of different sulfur content of NPCM/sulfur cathode material to the performance of Li–S battery, the different sulfur content of NPCM/sulfur composite cathode materials is prepared by changing the thermal diffusion time and the ratio of sulfur powder to NPCM. The performance of NPCM/sulfur cathode material with different sulfur content is studied at a current of 0.1 C, which will be very important to the preparation of high-performance sulfur/carbon cathode material with appropriate sulfur content.     

Thermomechanical properties of amorphous hydrogenated carbon–germanium alloys

Thermomechanical properties of amorphous hydrogenated carbon-germanium alloys prepared by the rf sputtering technique were determined for films in the 0 at. % to 100 at. % carbon content range. The stress, thermal expansion coefficient, and elastic modulus were obtained using the thermally induced bending technique. The stress was related to the concentration of hydrogen and argon, to the difference in the Ge-Ge and Ge-C bond length, and to the carbon hybridization. The thermal expansion coefficients of pure amorphous germanium and amorphous carbon are higher than that of their corresponding crystalline counterparts, which was attributed to the compressive stress of the films. The biaxial modulus, on the other hand, are always smaller than that of their crystalline counterparts, but increases as the concentration of carbon increases due to the substitution of Ge-Ge bonds by energetically stronger Ge-C and C-C bonds. Received: 9 May 2000 / Accepted: 10 May 2000 / Published online: 13 July 2000     

Optical limiting behavior of nano-gold self-assembled multi-wall carbon nanotube

The optical limiting behaviors of nano-gold self-assembled multi-wall carbon nanotube (MWNT) were experimentally investigated at 532 and 1064 nm, respectively. The comparison of the limiting performances between carbon nanotube suspension, C60 solution, and carbon black suspension (CBS) was performed. The results show that the optical limiting characteristic of nano-gold self-assembled MWNT is better than those of C60 and CBS. The mechanisms of the optical limiting for the samples were discussed.     

Piezoresistive Effect of Doped carbon Nanotube／Cellulose Films

The strain-induced resistance changes in iodine-doped and undoped carbon nanotube films were investigated by a three-point bending test. Carbon nanotubes were fabricated by hot filament chemical vapour deposition. The experimental results showed that there has a striking piezoresistive effect in carbon nanotube films. The gauge factor for I-doped and undoped carbon nanotube films under 500 microstrain was about 125 and 65 respectively at room temperature, exceeding that of polycrystalline silicon (30) at 35℃. The origin of the piezoresistivity in the films may be ascribed to a strain-induced change in the band gap for the doped tubes and to the intertube contact resistance for the undoped tubes.     

Metal–insulator transition in boron-doped amorphous carbon films

Boron-doped amorphous graphite-like carbon (GLC) films have been prepared with different boron concentrations. Electrical transport measurements in the temperature range 1.3–300?K on the films shows a doping-induced metal–insulator (MI) transition. On the metallic side of the transition, the experimental data are interpreted in terms of weak localization and the effect of electron–electron interactions. Data on the insulator side of transition are analyzed in terms of hopping conduction. Critical behaviour is observed near the transition, with the resistivity obeying a power-law temperature dependence.     

Photoluminescence lineshape features of carbon δ-doped GaAs heterostructures

Photoluminescence lineshape properties of quasi-two-dimensional electron systems in setback δ-doped GaAs heterostructures are studied at liquid helium temperature. Contributions from the ground and the first excited two-dimensional subband are clearly observed. A simple fit to the lineshape including broadening demonstrates that there is an exponential low-energy tail associated with the ground subband. No such tail is observed for the first excited subband. The fit precisely reveals the subband bottom energies, the Fermi energy, the electron temperature and the recombination intensities. A self-consistent calculation of subband properties including the potential contribution of the setback δ-doping reproduces well the subband properties and the recombination intensities.