Morphology,surface roughness,electron inelastic and quasielastic scattering in elastic peak electron spectroscopy of polymers

In elastic peak electron spectroscopy (EPES), the nearest vicinity of elastic peak in the low kinetic energy region reflects electron inelastic and quasielastic processes. Incident electrons produce surface excitations, inducing surface plasmons, with the corresponding loss peaks separated by 1–20 eV energy from the elastic peak. In this work, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and helium pycnometry are applied for determining surface atomic composition and bulk density, whereas atomic force microscopy (AFM) is applied for determining surface morphology and roughness. The component due to electron recoil on hydrogen atoms can be observed in EPES spectra for selected primary electron energies. Simulations of EPES predict a larger contribution of the hydrogen component than observed experimentally, where hydrogen deficiency is observed. Elastic peak intensity is influenced more strongly by surface morphology (roughness and porosity) than by surface excitations and quasielastic scattering of electrons by hydrogen atoms. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Surfactant in the gaseous phase II. Influence on stability of foams and thin liquid films

The influence of the vapors ofn-amyl orn-decyl alcohol on the stability of single thin liquid films, single bubbles, and foam columns was determined. It was found that the presence of surfactant vapors lowered the stability of foams and single foam films. The mechanism of the destabilizing action of the surfactant vapors on wet, dynamic foams under dynamic conditions is discussed. It is shown that the destabilizing action of the surfactant vapors is a further indication that surface elasticity forces are the main factor determining stability of wet, dynamic foams.     

On the surface modification of microchannels for microcapillary electrophoresis chips

This paper presents systematic investigation of the microchannel surface properties in microCE chips. Three popular materials for microCE chips, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), quartz, and glass, are used. The zeta potentials of these microchannels are calculated by measuring the EOF velocity to evaluate the surface properties after surface modification. The hydrophobic PDMS is usually plasma-treated for microCE applications. In this study, a new method using a high-throughput atmospheric plasma generator is adopted to treat the PDMS surface under atmospheric conditions. In this approach, the cost and time for surface treatment can be significantly reduced compared with the conventional vacuum plasma generator method. Experimental results indicate that new functional groups could be formed on the PDMS surface after treatment, resulting in a change in the surface property. The time-dependent surface property of the plasma-treated PDMS is then measured in terms of the zeta potential. Results show that the surface property will reach a stable condition after 1 h of plasma treatment. For glass CE chips, two new methods for changing the microchannel surface properties are developed. Instead of using complicated and time-consuming chemical silanization procedures for CE channel surface modification, two simple and reliable methods utilizing organic-based spin-on-glass and water-soluble acrylic resin are reported. The proposed method provides a fast batch process for controlling the surface properties of glass-based CE channels. The proposed methods are evaluated using PhiX-174 DNA maker separation. The experimental data show that the surface property is modified and separation efficiency greatly improved. In addition, the long-term stability of both coatings is verified in this study. The methods proposed in this study show potential as an excellent solution for glass-based microCE chip surface modification.     

Efficient synthesis of magnetic nanoparticle-Musa acuminata peel composite for the adsorption of anionic dye

The impregnation of magnetite (Mt) nanoparticle (NPs) onto Musa acuminata peel (MApe), to form a novel magnetic combo (MApe-Mt) for the adsorption of anionic bromophenol blue (BPB) was studied. The SEM, EDX, BET, XRD, FTIR and TGA were used to characterize the adsorbents. The FTIR showed that the OH and CO groups were the major sites for BPB uptake onto the adsorbent materials. The average Mt crystalline size on MApe-Mt was 21.13 nm. SEM analysis revealed that Mt NPs were agglomerated on the surface of the MApe biosorbent, with an average Mt diameter of 25.97 nm. After Mt impregnation, a decrease in BET surface area (14.89 to 3.80 m²/g) and an increase in pore diameter (2.25–3.11 nm), pore volume (0.0052–0.01418 cm³/g) and pH point of zero charge (6.4–7.2) was obtained. The presence of Pb(II) ions in solution significantly decreased the uptake of BPB onto both MApe (66.1–43.8%) and MApe-Mt (80.3–59.1%), compared to other competing ions (Zn(II), Cd(II), Ni(II)) in the solution. Isotherm modeling showed that the Freundlich model best fitted the adsorption data (R² > 0.994 and SSE < 0.0013). In addition, maximum monolayer uptake was enhanced from 6.04 to 8.12 mg/g after Mt impregnation. Kinetics were well described by the pseudo-first order and liquid film diffusion models. Thermodynamics revealed a physical, endothermic adsorption of BPB onto the adsorbents, with ΔH^o values of 15.87–16.49 kJ/mol, corroborated by high desorption (over 90%) of BPB from the loaded materials. The viability of the prepared adsorbents was also revealed in its reusability for BPB uptake.     

ToF‐SIMS observation of PTFE surfaces modified by α‐particle irradiation

The surface structure of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) upon α‐particle irradiation has been investigated at doses in the range of 1 × 10⁷ to 1 × 10¹¹ Rad and compared with the surface structure of the unirradiated polymer. Both neat and 25% fiberglass content PTFE were studied. The samples, maintained at nominal room temperature, were irradiated in vacuum by 5.5 MeV ⁴He²⁺ ions generated in a tandem accelerator beam line. Static time‐of‐flight SIMS (ToF‐SIMS) was employed to probe chemical changes at the surface as a function of the irradiation level. In general, the data are indicative of increased cross‐linking at α‐doses less than 1 × 10⁹ Rad, followed by increased fragmentation and unsaturation at α‐doses greater than 1 × 10⁹ Rad. Throughout the irradiation regime, scission is a constant factor promoting cross‐linking, branching, and unsaturation. However, at α‐doses greater than 1 × 10¹⁰ Rad, extreme structural degradation of the polymer becomes evident and is accompanied by conversion to oxygen‐functionalized and aliphatic compounds. Thus, for PTFE in an α‐particle field, an upper exposure limit of ～10¹⁰ Rad is essential for nominal retention of molecular structure. Finally, a quantitative relationship between α‐dose and characteristic fragment ion intensity is developed. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

TiO2表面电子结构及其光催化活性

利用ＨＣｌ和ＨＣｌＯ４对不同方法制备的ＴｉＯ２进行了表面修饰,发现经强酸修饰后ＴｉＯ２的光催化活性有明显提高,其中ＨＣｌ的修饰效果好于ＨＣｌＯ４。     

单分散磁性P(St/BA/MAA)微球的制备

在共沉淀法合成超细磁流体的基础上 ,以苯乙烯 (St)、丙烯酸丁酯 (BA)和甲基丙烯酸 (MAA)为共聚单体 ,在不同的介质体系中采用无皂乳液聚合法制备了单分散 ,粒径范围为 80～ 2 30nm的磁性P(St BA MAA)微球 .详细探讨了介质极性、磁流体中表面活性剂含量对磁性高分子微球粒径和单分散性的影响 .实验结果表明 ,在一定范围内随介质极性降低 ,磁性高分子微球的单分散性提高 ,随表面活性剂用量增加 ,单分散性变差 .总体来看 ,磁性高分子微球的单分散性与其表面静电斥力密切相关 ,过大或过小的静电斥力均会导致磁性高分子微球单分散性的降低 .     

Surface forces in wetting films

A short review of various components of surface forces acting in a non-symmetrical system such as wetting films is presented here. Experimental results are compared with modified DLVO theory, which includes, besides dispersion and electrostatic, structural (solvation) forces caused by a change in liquid structure in conditions of confined geometry. The peculiarities of disjoining pressure isotherms and conditions of the film stability of non-polar and polar simple liquids, as well as of aqueous solutions of electrolytes and surfactants, are systematically considered from a historical perspective.     

Degradation in gain for a free electron laser amplifier due to electron momentum spread

A finite spread in axial momentum for the electron beam in a free electron laser amplifier is shown to decrease the small-signal gain. For millimeter and sub-millimeter wave amplifiers, where exponential growth dominates the gain, it is shown that the gain is approximately 3 db below that for a cold beam if the relative momentum spread (u/u)_1/2 = (G_o/248)^1/2 (_o/L), where G_o1 is the gain in db for the cold-beam case, _o is the magnetic wiggler period, and L is the amplifier length. Exact numerical examples are given for representative FEL amplifiers at 35 and 550 GHz.This research was sponsored by the U.S. Office of Naval Research, and by the U.S.-Israel Binational Science Foundation.     

Far infrared surface plasmon propagation

New experimental evidence is presented which shows that, contrary to an earlier report, far-infrared surface plasmons at metal-air interfaces propagate long distances (tens of centimeters or longer).