Corrosion behavior and protective ability of Zn and Zn-Co electrodeposits with embedded polymeric nanoparticles

The anodic behavior, corrosion resistance and protective ability of Zn and alloyed Zn-Co (∼3 wt.%) nanocomposite coatings were investigated in a model corrosion medium of 5% NaCl solution. The metallic matrix of the layers incorporates core-shell nano-sized stabilized polymeric micelles (SPMs) obtained from poly(ethylene oxide)-b-poly(propylene oxide)-b-poly(ethylene oxide) block co-polymers. The protective properties of the composite coatings were evaluated using potentiodynamic polarization technique, polarization resistance measurements and powder X-ray diffraction. The sizes and distribution of the stabilized polymeric micelles in the starting electrolytes used as well as in the metal matrices of the layers were investigated using scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The results obtained are compared to those of electrodeposited Zn and Zn-Co (∼3 wt.%) alloy coatings at identical conditions and demonstrate the enhanced protective characteristics of the Zn nanocomposites during the investigating period. The influence of the SPMs on the corrosion resistance of the nanocomposite layers is commented and discussed.     

Centimetre-Long Single Crystalline ZnO Fibres Prepared by Vapour Transportation

Centimetre-long ZnO fibres are synthesized by vapour transportation via thermal evaporation of ZnO powders. The growth process is carried out in a graphite crucible, in which ZnO powder is loaded as the source material, and a silicon wafer is positioned on the top of the crucible as the growth substrate. During the growth process, the source temperature is kept at 800℃ and the substrate temperature is kept at 600℃. Typical growth time to obtain centimetre-long ZnO fibres is 5-10 hours. Scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, x-ray diffraction （XRD）, transmission electron microscopy （TEM）, and selected area electron diffraction （SAED） measurement results show that ZnO fibres are single crystalline with high crystalline quality and very low defects concentration.     

Cone-shaped structures of GeO2 fabricated by a thermal evaporation process

We have synthesized cone-like GeO₂ structures via thermal heating of Ge powders. We have investigated the effects of substrate temperature on the sample morphology, revealing that cone-shaped structures are preferentially obtained at higher temperature. The cone-shaped structures, which gradually become thinner to form a sharp tip, appear to be a single-crystalline, hexagonal structure of GeO₂. Room-temperature photoluminescence measurement revealed two emission peaks, at about 2.78 and 3.04 eV.     

Tuning of the emission color of organic electroluminescent devices by exciplex formation at the organic solid interface

′ ,4^′′-tris(3-methylphenylphenylamino)triphenylamine, 1,3,5-tris[(4-diphenylaminophenyl)phenylamino]benzene, N, N^′-bis(3-methylphenyl)-N, N^′-diphenyl-[1,1^′-biphenyl]-4,4^′-diamine, and 4,4^′,4^′′-tri(N-carbazolyl)triphenylamine, emitted bright light resulting from the exciplex formed at the solid interface between TPOB and the hole-transporting material. The exciplex formation was evidenced by the measurements of the photoluminescence spectra and lifetimes of the mixture of an equimolar amount of TPOB and each of the hole-transporting materials. Tuning of the emission color from greenish blue to orange was attained by varying the ionization potential of the hole-transporting material for the fixed electron-transporting material of TPOB. Received: 27 July 1998/Accepted: 28 July 1998     

Study on crystalline properties of Er-Si-O compounds in relation to Er-related 1.54 μm photoluminescence and electrical properties

Er-Si-O crystalline compounds, which exhibit superlattice structures and sharp and strong Er-related 1.54 μm photoluminescence (PL) spectra at room temperature have been formed by self-assembling growth mechanism. Oxidation of the starting materials which have Si and Er at an atomic ratio of 2:1 are prepared and then oxidation and succeeding high-temperature annealing in Ar above 1250 °C cause a self-assembled superlattice-structured Er-Si-O crystalline compounds. The control of the ratio of Si and Er, as well as the following oxidation and annealing processes, is found to be sensitive to the crystalline properties, PL spectra and electrical properties. In this study, Er-Si-O crystalline thin films are formed on Si substrates by sol-gel and MOMBE methods, and their crystalline properties such as crystalline orientation and concentration ratio of Er, Si and O are investigated. Crystalline Er-Si-O films of high orientation are successfully grown on Si(1 0 0) and its inclined surface. The PL and excitation spectra, fluorescence decay and the electrical properties are found to be strongly related to the crystalline properties. Excess O causes a broader 1.54 μm PL spectra, slower fluorescence decay, lower carrier-mediated excitation and higher resistivity. A precise control of O is found to be necessary to grow superlattice-structured Er-Si-O compounds, which are semiconducting and are excitable via carrier-mediated excitation mechanism.     

A Wide Band Strong Acoustic Absorption in a Locally Network Anechoic Coating

Composite materials with interpenetrating network structures usually exhibit unexpected merit due to the cooperative interaction. Locally resonant phononic crystals （LRPC） exhibit excellent sound attenuation performance based on a periodical arrangement of sound wave scatters. Inspired by the interpenetrating network structure and the LRPC concept, we develop a locally network anechoic coating （LNAC） that can achieve a wide band of underwater strong acoustic absorption. The experimental results show that the LNAC possesses an excellent underwater acoustic absorbing capacity in a wide frequency range. Moreover, in order to investigate the impact of the interpenetrating network structure, we fabricate a faultage structure sample and the network is disconnected by hard polyurethane （PU）. The experimental comparison between the LNAC and the fanltage structure sample shows that the interpenetrating network structure of the LNAC plays an important role in achieving a wide band strong acoustic absorption.     

Epitaxial graphene: the material for graphene electronics

The search for an ideal graphene sheet has been a quest driving graphene research. While most research has focused on exfoliated graphene, intrinsic substrate interactions and mechanical disorder have precluded the observation of a number of graphene's expected physical properties in this material. The only graphene candidate that has demonstrated all the essential properties of an ideal sheet is multilayer graphene grown on the SiC(000 ) surface. Its unique stacking allows nearly all the sheets in the stack to behave like isolated graphene, while the weak graphene‐graphene interaction prevents any significant doping or distortion in the band near the Fermi level. (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Femtosecond laser ablation of neurons in <Emphasis Type="Italic">C</Emphasis>. <Emphasis Type="Italic">elegans</Emphasis> for behavioral studies

In this paper, the interaction between the inhomogeneous and anisotropic cloak covered infinitely long PEC circular cylinder and the parallel electric-line-source is investigated in detail. First, the permittivity and permeability tensors of the cloak are defined according to Pendry’s model, then the wave equation in the metamaterial cloak is derived; second, the far/near properties of the model are investigated, and using the boundary conditions the electromagnetic fields of the whole region are calculated analytically; finally, based on the analytical expressions, the electric fields of the whole region are demonstrated through numerical results which show the effects of invisibility. Finally, the effects of loss on the performance of the invisible cloak are investigated.     

Three-dimensional photonic bandgap crystals of titania hollow spheres at visible wavelengths

A non-close-packed three-dimensional photonic crystal of titania hollow spheres has been fabricated. The fabricated process is based on the silica template technique, thermal sintering, and the sol–gel process. The band-structure calculations and optical measurements both indicate that a quasi-full three-dimensional photonic bandgap located at the visible wavelength has been presented between the eighth and ninth bands. This indicates that the non-close-packed structure of titania hollow spheres was easier to open the complete photonic bandgaps than other face-centered cubic structures made by self-assembling methods at the visible region.     

RF-plasma assisted pulsed laser deposition of nitrogen-doped SrTiO3 thin films

Perovskite-type nitrogen substituted SrTiO₃ thin films were deposited with a one-step process by RF-plasma assisted pulsed laser deposition from a SrTiO₃ target using a N₂ plasma, while deposition with a NH₃ plasma yields films with almost no incorporated nitrogen. The deposited films exhibit a cubic perovskite-type crystal structure and reveal oriented growth on MgO(100) substrates. The unit cell parameters of the studied N-doped SrTiO₃ films range within 3.905<a<3.918 Å, which is slightly larger than for SrTiO₃ (a=3.905 Å). The nitrogen content in the deposited films varies from 0.2 to 0.7 atom%. The amount of incorporated nitrogen in the films decreases with increasing RF-power, while the N₂ flow rate does not have any pronounced influence on the N content. Nitrogen incorporation results in an increased optical absorption at 400–600 nm, which is associated with N(2p) energy states that have a higher energy level than the valence band in strontium titanate. The optical band gap energies in the studied N-doped SrTiO₃ films are at 3.2–3.3 eV, which is very similar to that of pure strontium titanate (～3.2 eV). Films deposited with NH₃ for the RF-plasma exhibit a lower degree of crystallinity and reveal almost no nitrogen incorporation into the crystal lattice.