Characteristics of Ag/Bi<Subscript>3.25</Subscript>La<Subscript>0.75</Subscript>Ti<Subscript>3</Subscript>O<Subscript>12</Subscript>/p-Si heterostructure prepared by sol-gel processing

The metal-ferroelectric-semiconductor (MFS) heterostructure has been fabricated using Bi_3.25La_0.75Ti₃O₁₂ (BLT) as a ferroelectric layer by sol-gel processing. The effect of annealing temperature on phase formation and electrical characteristics of Ag/BLT/p-Si heterostructure were investigated. The BLT thin films annealed at from 500°C to 650°C are polycrystalline, with no pyrochlore or other second phases. The C-V curves of Ag/BLT/p-Si heterostructure annealed at 600°C show a clockwise C-V ferroelectric hysteresis loops and obtain good electrical properties with low current density of below 2×10⁻⁸ A/cm² within ±4 V, a memory window of over 0.7 V for a thickness of 400 nm BLT films. The memory window enlarges and the current density reduces with the increase of annealing temperature, but a annealing temperature over 600°C is disadvantageous for good electrical properties.     

Ag on Pt(111): Changes in Electronic and CO Adsorption Properties upon PtAg/Pt(111) Monolayer Surface Alloy Formation

The electronic and chemical (adsorption) properties of bimetallic Ag/Pt(111) surfaces and their modification upon surface alloy formation, that is, during intermixing of Ag and Pt atoms in the top atomic layer upon annealing, were studied by X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and, using CO as probe molecule, by temperature‐programmed desorption (TPD) and infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (IRRAS), respectively. The surface alloys are prepared by deposition of sub‐monolayer Ag amounts on a Pt(111) surface at room temperature, leading to extended Ag monolayer islands on the substrate, and subsequent annealing of these surfaces. Surface alloy formation starts at ≈600–650 K, which is evidenced by core‐level shifts (CLSs) of the Ag(3d_5/2) signal. A distinct change of the CO adsorption properties is observed when going to the intermixed PtAg surface alloys. Most prominently, we find the growth of a new desorption feature at higher temperature (≈550 K) in the TPD spectra upon surface alloy formation. This goes along with a shift of the CO_ad‐related IR bands to lower wave number. Surface alloy formation is almost completed after heating to 700 K.     

Effect of TaNx on electrical and optical properties of annealed TaNx/Ag/TaNx films

As‐deposited Ag(10 nm)/glass films exhibited agglomerated nanocrystals with seemingly thick boundaries. Introduction of a TaN_x layer below the Ag films resulted in dense and smooth structures, with a resistance at least three times lower than that of Ag/glass. For TaN_x(10 nm)/Ag(10 nm)/TaN_x(10 nm)/glass multilayer films, Auger electron spectroscopy results indicate that TaN_x acts as an effective barrier restraining the diffusion of Ag. After annealing (up to 573 K), no outward diffusion of Ag through either TaN_x layer was seen. However, partial oxidation of the outermost TaN_x layer to form Ta₂O₅ was observed. The films showed promising optical properties with 73% transmittance in the visible region and ~15% average transmittance in the near‐infrared region. The optical data obtained here was in good agreement with simulated predictions. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Anodized Iron Oxide Nanostructures on Different Carbon Steels for Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting

In this study, two different nanostructural iron oxide films were prepared on two kinds of carbon steels (CS) with different contents of impurities via anodization in a mixture of aqueous ammonium fluoride solution and ethylene glycol, respectively, and apply to photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. After annealing, iron oxide nanotubes (NTs) was coated on surface of lower purity CS and iron oxide nanoporous (NPs) was coated on surface of higher purity CS via scanning electron microscope. X‐ray diffraction pattern shows both of samples contain a major phase of α‐Fe₂O₃ and a slight phase of Fe₃O₄. Compared with NPs, NTs behaves better absorbance ability in visible spectra range via UV‐visible absorbance spectra. From PEC response, the iron oxide NTs showed higher water splitting performance (0.10 mA/cm² at 0.4 V vs. Ag/AgCl) than NPs (0.04 mA/cm² at 0.4 V vs. Ag/AgCl) due to better absorbance, higher car‐ rier concentration and low charge transfer resistance.     

Metal nanocomposite films prepared in situ from PVA and silver nitrate. Study of the nanostructuration process and morphology as a function of the in situ routes

Cast‐hybrid films composed of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and silver nitrate were treated according to three different ways, thermal annealing, UV‐irradiation, and chemical reduction by a borohydride solution, to obtain PVA/silver nanocomposite films. The nanostructuration process was studied as a function of the treatment conditions, and discussed as a function of the mobility state of the polymer chains in the nanocomposite matrix during treatment. A homogeneous dispersion of crystalline silver nanoparticles was obtained by thermal annealing above T_g and below T_m and UV‐lamp irradiation below T_g. For these two treatments, the major processing parameters were the annealing temperature and time and the UV‐exposure time, respectively. For low‐conversion rate in Ag(0), the films evolved upon ageing at room temperature. Totally different morphology and Ag(0) conversion were achieved by chemical reduction in a borohydride solution. All the silver ions were reduced into Ag(0), and crystalline silver nanoparticles layers parallel to the film surface were observed after the treatment. This morphology was related to the high‐swollen state of the polymer matrix during treatment. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 2062–2071, 2008     

A comparative studyof heat‐treated Ag:SiO2 nanocomposites synthesized by cosputtering and sol‐gel methods

In this work, we compared formation and properties of heat‐treated Ag nanoparticles in silica matrix synthesized by RF‐reactive magnetron cosputtering and sol–gel methods separately. The sol–gel and sputtered films were annealed at different temperatures in air and in a reduced environment, respectively. The optical UV‐visible spectrophotometry have shown that the absorption peak appears at 456 and 400 nm wavelength indicating formation of silver nanoparticles in SiO₂ matrix for both the sol–gel and sputtering methods at 100 and 800 °C, respectively. XPS measurements showed that the metallic Ag⁰ nanoparticles can be obtained from both the techniques at these temperatures. According to XPS and AFM analysis, by increasing annealing temperature, the concentration of the Ag nanoparticles on the surface decreased and the nanoparticles diffused into the substrate for the sol–gel films, while for the films deposited by cosputtering method, the Ag surface concentration increased by increasing the temperature. Based on AFM observations, the size of nanoparticles on the surface were obtained at about 25 and 55 nm for sputtered and sol–gel films, respectively, supporting our optical data analysis. In comparison, the sputtering technique can produce Ag metallic nanoparticles with a narrower particle size distribution relative to the sol–gel method. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Interface analysis of pure Sn,pure Ag and Sn?Ag binary alloys in H2SO4

The electrochemical and passivation properties of three selected binary xSn? Ag (x = 26, 50 and 70 wt%) alloys were studied by means of open‐circuit potential variation, potentiodynamic curves and a.c. impedance spectroscopy techniques.The specimens were polarized between ?1.0 and 0.5 V versus saturated calomel electrode (SCE) in naturally oxygenated sulfuric acidsolutions of different concentrations The experimental results indicate that i_corr increases with increasing either the acid concentration or the Sn content in the solid phase. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopyresults measured at the free corrosion potential confirm that alloy I (26Sn? Ag) characterizes by thicker passive film with higher protective ability compared to the other two samples richer in tin component. The exponential variation of the relative thickness of the surface film on any of the tested samples assumes an almost constant thickness for a thin barrier layer and a much larger outer porous layer that dominates the total film thickness on the alloy. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A new method for deposition nitrogen‐doped TiO2 nanofibers with mixed phases of anatase and rutile

A new method for deposition nitrogen‐doped TiO₂ nanofibers films was proposed. By using atmospheric pressure plasma jet generated by dual‐frequency power sources, the morphologies of these TiO₂ films were investigated by scanning electron microscopy. The structures of these films were characterized by X‐ray diffraction and Raman Shift Spectroscopy. The elemental composition of these films [Colour figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com ] were characterized by means of X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The optical absorption of these films were studied by UV‐vis absorbance spectra. These results indicated that the nitrogen‐doped nanofibers TiO₂ films have mixed phases of anatase and rutile. They also display narrow band gap. The I‐V characteristics curves exhibited good conductivity ability. Optical emission spectroscopy (OES) was measured to analyze the active group.     

Corrosion resistances of passive films on low‐Cr steel and carbon steel in simulated concrete pore solution

The passive ranges of carbon steel rebar and 3Cr steel rebar in saturated Ca(OH)₂‐simulated concrete pore solution with pH 12.6 were determined by means of cyclic voltammetry and potentiodynamic polarization curves. Chronopotentiometry was used to obtain steady‐state conditions for the formation of passive films on rebar samples at different anodic potentials. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, Mott–Schottky and X‐ray photoelectron spectrometer curves were employed to compare the formed passive films at different potentials. Additionally, cyclic polarization curves were used to compare the corrosion resistances of formed passive films on the two rebars in saturated Ca(OH)₂‐simulated concrete pore solution with different concentration of Cl^?. The results show that the passive ranges of the two rebars are all between ?0.15 and +0.6 V, and more stable passive films can be formed on both rebars at the anodic potential of +0.3 V. In the absence of Cl^?, the stability and corrosion resistance of the passive film formed on the 3Cr rebar are better than those of CS rebar. The passive film of 3Cr steel has the relatively better pitting corrosion resistance than carbon steel in saturated Ca(OH)₂‐simulated concrete pore solution that contains different concentration of Cl^?. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Oxidation‐induced nanostructures on Cu{100}, Cu(Ag) and Ag/Cu{100} studied by photoelectron spectroscopy

Initial surface oxidation and nanoscale morphology on Cu{100}, Cu(Ag) and Ag/Cu{100} have been investigated in situ by X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X‐ray induced Auger electron spectroscopy (XAES) and the inelastic electron background analysis as a function of oxygen exposure at 3.7 × 10^?2 and 213 mbar pressures at a surface temperature of 373 K. Relative Cu₂O concentrations have been quantified by analysis of the peak shape of the XAES Cu LMM transition. The surface morphology of Cu₂O islands and the Ag layer has been characterized by inelastic electron background analysis of XAES O KLL and Ag 3d transitions. Oxygen‐induced segregation of Cu, as well as the subsequent Cu₂O island formation on Cu(Ag) and Ag/Cu{100} surfaces, has been investigated quantitatively. Our results indicate that Ag has a clear inhibitive effect on the initial oxidation and Cu₂O island formation on Cu(Ag) and Ag/Cu{100} surfaces. The Cu₂O islands are also observed to remain highly strained on Ag/Cu{100} even at higher O₂ exposures. The results suggest that strained Cu₂O islands eventually penetrate through the buried Ag layer, and in conjunction with segregating Cu atoms enable the oxidation to proceed at a similar rate to or even faster than on the unalloyed Cu surface. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.