Transparent water repellent silica films by sol-gel process

Non-wettable surfaces with high contact angles and facile sliding angle of water droplets have received tremendous attention in recent years. The present paper describes the room temperature (∼27 °C) synthesis of dip coated water repellent silica coatings on glass substrates using iso-butyltrimethoxysilane (iso-BTMS) as a co-precursor. Emphasis is given to the influence of the hydrophobic reagent (iso-BTMS) on the water repellent properties of the silica films. Silica sol was prepared by keeping the molar ratio of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) precursor, methanol (MeOH) solvent, water (H₂O) constant at 1:16.53:8.26 respectively, with 0.01 M NH₄F throughout the experiment and the molar ratio of iso-BTMS/TEOS (M) was varied from 0 to 0.965. The effect of M on the surface structure and hydrophobicity has been researched. The static water contact angle values of the silica films increased from 65° to 140° and water sliding angle values decreased from 42° to 16° with an increase in the M value from 0 to 0.965. The water repellent silica films are thermally stable up to a temperature of 280 °C and above this temperature the film shows hydrophilic behavior. The water repellent silica films were characterized by the Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) Spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), % of optical transmission, thermal and chemical aging tests, humidity tests, static and dynamic water contact angle measurements.     

Temperature profiles in a two-component heterogeneous system heated with a cw laser

A formalism has been developed to calculate the steady-state temperature profiles induced by a cw laser in a composite system comprising a thick medium covered with a film of another medium. The analysis is carried out assuming that thermal and optical properties of the media are temperature-independent. A concept of the effective thermal conductivity for the system is introduced in terms of the maximum temperature rise. Temperature-distributions are numerically computed in typical cases for a circular Gaussian beam to illustrate dependence on film thickness, thermal conductivities and absorption coefficients of the media and size of the laser beam.     

Small angle neutron scattering studies on protein denaturation induced by different methods

Small angle neutron scattering (SANS) has been used to study conformational changes in protein bovine serum albumin (BSA) as induced by varying temperature and in the presence of protein denaturating agents urea and surfactant. BSA has prolate ellipsoidal shape and is found to be stable up to 60°C above which it denaturates and subsequently leads to aggregation. The protein solution exhibits a fractal structure at temperatures above 64°C, with fractal dimension increasing with temperature. BSA protein is found to unfold in the presence of urea at concentrations greater than 4 M and acquires a random coil Gaussian chain conformation. The conformation of the unfolded protein in the presence of surfactant has been determined directly using contrast variation SANS measurements by contrast matching surfactant molecules. The protein acquires a random coil Gaussian conformation on unfolding with its radius of gyration increasing with increase in surfactant concentration      

CsF promoted rapid synthesis of spirooxindole-pyran annulated heterocycles at room temperature in ethanol

A newer, versatile, and straightforward synthetic strategy for the construction of functionalized spirooxindole-pyran annulated heterocycles is described. The procedure is based on CsF-promoted rapid tandem Knoevenagel-Michael-Cyclocondensation reaction of isatin, malononitrile, and 4-hydroxycoumarin/barbituric acids/pyrazolone at room temperature in ethanol. This methodology has various advantages like easy operational, excellent yields within short reaction time (3-25 min), and simple isolation of products. The CsF has a dual role as a base and carbonyl activator.     

An efficient and sustainable protocol for oxidation of alcohols to carbonyl compounds

A simple and extremely efficient protocol is developed for oxidation of alcohols to carbonyl compounds at room temperature by using green solvent lactic acid and green oxidant H₂O₂. This protocol provides high conversion under catalyst free conditions. The easy work up procedure allows high selectivity and good to excellent yields of carbonyl compounds with purity. We have performed wide range of substrates in present study with primary focus on reusability of lactic acid.     

Computer simulation of proton channelling in silicon

The channelling of 3 MeV protons in the 〈110〉 direction of silicon has been simulated using Vineyard model taking into account thermally vibrating nuclei and energy loss due to ion-electron interactions. A beam made up of constant energy particles but with spatial divergence has been simulated for the purpose. The values of the minimum scattering yield and half width of the channelling dip are shown to be depth sensitive and agree well with the measured values. The dependence of yield on the angle of incidence has been found to give information of all three types of channelling. The critical angles for the three types of channelling and wavelength of planar oscillations are consistent with the previous calculations.     

Recoverable and thermally stable superhydrophobic silica coating

A facile route to methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS) based recoverable superhydrophobic silica coatings with dual-scale roughness obtained through the single step base catalyst sol–gel process. Superhydrophobic silica coatings have shown static water contact angle near about 170 ± 1° and dynamic water contact angle up to 2 ± 1°. Superhydrophobic-superhydrophilic switching feature also achieved by alternating heat treatment and bath surface modification with Trimethylchlorosilane (TMCS) at room temperature (26 °C). Furthermore, the superhydrophobic state could be transformed into superhydrophilic state by slow rate heat treatment. These studies present a very simple strategy for the fabrication of recoverable superhydrophobic surfaces.     

Observing SU(2) phases with neutrons

We present an overview of polarized neutron experiments observing SU(2) phases. The first experimental separation of geometric and dynamical phases, the explicit verification of Pauli anticommutation and the first observation of interference amplitudes and phases in noncyclic evolutions are described. These experiments elucidate the physics of phases and phase jumps propounded by the Pancharatnam connection.     

Investigation of laser-annealed antimony implanted Si by ion backscattering and channeling and structure analysis

Rutherford backscattering (RBS), ion channeling and surface studies were done to investigate diffusion of ion implanted Sb in Si. Clean and polished Si was implanted by 190KeV Sb⁺ ions to a dose of 2.3×10¹⁵cm^–2. Laser annealing was carried out by a single 10 J/cm² laser pulse from a Nd: glass (7 ns FWHM) laser. Concentration profiles of Sb as a function of depth and dopant substitutionalities were measured by helium-ion backscattering and channeling. The laser shot resulted in melting of the central portion of the spot. A honey comb type surface morphology was found by SEM analysis. Dektak surface profiles showed a crater of 600 nm depth. One-dimensional heating calculations show that dopant diffusion depths, after consideration of simultaneous evaporation, can be 400 nm, whereas experiments indicate larger depths (1 m). Calculated crater depth is roughly twice the experimental value. Measured depths are much larger than calculated by heat diffusion and indicate that regrowth and distribution of Sb has been modified by convection in the melt. We estimate good substitutionality up to 4 J/cm² and discuss energy density dependence for such high-energy density laser pulses.