Surface and adsorptive properties of carbons prepared from biomass

A number of activated carbons were prepared from a locally available by-product, corncobs, under currently established activation schemes. Obtained carbons were characterized by N₂ adsorption at 77 K and the isotherms were analyzed by BET and α_s methods. Steam-activation at 900 °C produced a microporous carbon having the highest S^α of 788 m² g⁻¹, whereas activation with air at 350 °C produced a carbon of S^α = 321 m²/g and possess wider pores. KOH impregnation with char in ratio 1:1 (w/w) and impregnated in the same ratio with the raw material prior to pyrolysis at 700 °C for 1 h, gave CK700, K700 respectively. An additional sample was obtained by oxidizing part of K700 with conc. HNO₃. All three KOH carbons show pore structures much close to char itself which may be due to potassium salt left in pores and is not easily leached with repeated water washings. In addition, KOH is more effective on the precursor itself than on its char of already developed porosity. FT-IR spectra show an increase in oxygen functionalties on the carbon surface as a result of activation process and the bands become stronger in the spectra of the acid-treated sample. The oxidized carbon sample showed relatively higher uptake of Pb²⁺ and MB and its surface chemistry plays the key role in their adsorption, while sharp decrease was observed in the uptake of phenol and mono-nitrophenols from aqueous solutions. An SEM study showed that air activation produce obvious voids reflecting its erosive effect on the external carbon surface.     

含遮蔽抛射沉积模型的有限尺寸效应

含遮蔽抛射沉积模型是在抛射沉积(BD)模型的基础上考虑了粒子以一定的角度分布倾斜入射的情况.本文应用外推方法确定了大尺寸极限下含遮蔽抛射沉积模型的各标度指数,讨论了该模型的有限尺寸效应及其标度性质.从模拟结果可以看出含遮蔽BD模型的有限尺寸效应与BD模型有所不同,遮蔽这种非局域作用可以显著地改变BD模型的标度性质. 关键词： 遮蔽效应 抛射沉积模型 有限尺寸效应 动力学标度     

Chiral symmetry breaking in FAXY model with roughness exponent method

Chiral symmetry breaking in the frustrated antiferromagnetic XY (FAXY) model on a two-dimensional triangular lattice is investigated. The roughness exponent method is used instead of the standard Metropolis method. Spin configurations are mapped to adatoms on a solid-on-solid (SOS) growth model. Statistical properties of the grown film surface are analyzed. Results show that the chiral transition can be indicated by the sharp increase in the roughness of the film morphologies. The critical temperature at the transition can be identified either by the peak of the noise-reduced interface width (W^∗$W^{\ast }$) or the peak of the noise-reduced roughness exponent (α^∗${\alpha }^{\ast }$). The critical temperature and exponent (ν$\nu$) obtained here are consistent with those obtained from conventional methods.     

Influence of experimental parameters on physical properties of porous silicon and oxidized porous silicon layers

This paper reports physical properties of porous silicon and oxidized porous silicon, manufactured by anodisation from heavily p-type doped silicon wafers as a function of experimental parameters. The growth rate and refractive index of the layers were studied at different applied current densities and glycerol concentrations in electrolyte. When the current density varied from 5 to 100 mA/cm², the refractive index was between 1.2 and 2.4 which corresponded to a porosity range from 42 to 85%. After oxidation, the porosity decreased and was between 2 and 45% for a refractive index range from 1.22 to 1.46. The thermal processing also induced an increase in thickness which was dependent on the initial porosity. This increase in thickness was more important for the lowest porosities. Lastly, the roughness of the porous layer/silicon substrate interface was studied at different applied current densities and glycerol concentrations in solution. Roughness decreased when the current density or glycerol concentration increased. Moreover, roughness was also reduced by thermal oxidation.     

超光滑基片等离子体表面处理研究

通过对射频功率、反应室压强和处理时间等参量进行实验,系统研究了等离子体处理对基片表面状态的影响.结果表明,等离子体处理可以溅射去除加工变质层,降低表面粗糙度,提高基片表面洁净度和表面能.优化后的参量证实,经等离子处理的基片比未经等离子体处理的基片镀膜后损耗平均降低34.2 ppm,并且显示出良好的一致性.     

Phase diagrams and surface properties of modified water models

The surface properties and phase diagrams are examined for a number of modified water models. In the ‘bent’ family of models where the bond angle is decreased and the network structure is lost the surface tension is lower than in SPC/E water and the critical temperature is lower. In the ‘hybrid’ family of models which are hybrids between SPC/E water and a Lennard–Jones liquid the surface tension and the critical temperature are higher that in SPC/E water. These properties correlate well with the varying ability of the liquids to dissolve hard spheres. The surface potential, on the other hand, is slightly smaller in magnitude in the hybrid models than in SPC/E water because there is slightly less alignment of the dipoles in the surface layer. The degree of molecular alignment in the surface and the consequent surface potential drop is much lower in magnitude in the bent models than in SPC/E water.     

Surface characteristics of coated soft- and hardwoods due to UV-B ageing

Wood is a valuable building material, but it is susceptible to degradation if left unprotected especially when using less durable species. Protection is commonly achieved by applying a suitable finish that should exhibit sufficient penetration, good adhesion and resistance to photo-degradation and weathering. The performance of wood coatings is largely influenced by the adhesion between the coating and substrate and any degradation of the substrate will also affect the coating. The aim of this study was to determine the degree to which the substrate degrades despite the coating and adds to the ageing of the coating from the interface. This effect can be expected to differ for soft- and hardwoods. Coated wood samples from pine and meranti wood - a soft- and hardwood - were irradiated with UV-B light to detect surface changes at various length scales and to assess the impact of the underlying wood substrate on the ageing performance of a commercially available acrylic coating. Surface modifications were determined with atomic force microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, colour spectroscopy, static contact angle and a surface roughness profiler.     

Surface tension and universality in the three-dimensional Ising model

The amplitude ₀ of the interfacial free energy per unit area (or surface tension) of the body-centered-cubic Ising model is found using a direct monte carlo simulation technique. The combination ²/k_BT_c, where is the correlation length, is shown to agree within the precision of the simulations with a previously reported estimate for the simple cubic lattice. Evidence is also presented for the universality of the finite-size scaling amplitude for the surface tension.     

Dynamics and growth of particles undergoing ballistic coalescence

The irreversible evolution of a model for ballistic coalescence of spherical particles, whereby colliding particles merge into a single, larger sphere with conservation of mass and momentum, is analyzed on the basis of scaling assumptions, mean-field theory, and kinetic theory for arbitrary dimensionality and size-mass relation. The asymptotic growth regime is characterized by scaling laws associated with the instantaneous mean mass and kinetic energy of the particles. A hyperscaling relation between the mass and energy exponents is derived. The predictions of the theoretical analysis are tested by extensive simulations of the two-dimensional version of the model. Due to multiple coalescence events, the exponents are found to be nonuniversal (i.e., density dependent) and to differ significantly from the mean-field predictions. The distribution of masses turns out to be universal and exponential. Particle energies follow a Boltzmann distribution, with a time-dependent temperature, or relax toward such a distribution, even when the initial distribution is highly non-Maxwellian. In the case where the particles are swollen [i.e., the size-mass relation involves the Flory exponentv=3/(d+2)], an asymptotic scaling regime is observed only for sufficiently low initial packing fractions. At higher densities, the irreversible evolution terminates in a catastrophic coalescence event involving all remaining particles.     

The fabrication of Te nanowires with different orientations by vacuum vapor deposition

We have fabricated sharp-tipped Te nanowires on a NaNO₂ nanoparticles substrate by vapor deposition method. These nanowires are parallel or perpendicular to c-axis of hexagonal Te depending on the source temperature. We think the sharp-tip can efficiently reduce the energy of adsorbed atoms, leading to favorable growth along its direction.     

Roughness scaling and sensitivity to initial conditions in a symmetric restricted ballistic deposition model

In this work, we introduce a restricted ballistic deposition model with symmetric growth rules that favors the formation of local finite slopes. It is the simplest model which, even without including a diffusive relaxation mode of the interface, leads to a macroscopic groove instability. By employing a finite-size scaling of numerical simulation data, we determine the scaling behavior of the surface structure grown over a one-dimensional substrate of linear size L. We found that the surface profile develops a macroscopic groove with the asymptotic surface width scaling as , with . The early-time dynamics is governed by the scaling law , with . We further investigate the sensitivity to initial conditions of the present model by applying damage spreading techniques. We find that the early-time distance between two initially close surface configurations grows in a ballistic fashion as , but a slower Brownian-like scaling () sets up for evolution times much larger than a characteristic time scale . Received 26 May 2000     

1+1维抛射沉积模型内部结构动力学行为的数值研究

采用Kinetic Monte Carlo方法对1+1维抛射沉积(BD)模型内部结构的动力学行为进行了大量的数值模拟研究.分别分析了空洞密度和内部界面的动力学行为.研究表明,空洞密度呈高斯型分布,其平均值首先随生长时间快速增长,然后达到一个与基底尺寸无关的饱和值.除表面宽度,还引入了新的极值统计方法来分析该模型内部界面的动力学行为,分析结果显示,1+1维BD模型内部界面的演化满足标准的Family-Vicsek标度规律,并且属Kardar-Parisi-Zhang方程所描述的普适类.最后对表面宽度和极值统计两种理论方法的有限尺寸效应进行了比较.     

Study of the effect of initial conditions on the scaling properties of CaF2 thin films

The growth of thermally deposited CaF₂ films was studied using three different substrates for deposition: glass, gold and silicon. Each substrate was chosen because of its different topography and used to determine the effect of substrate roughness on the growth of CaF₂ films. After thermally depositing a range of CaF₂ film thicknesses on the substrates, the CaF₂ surfaces were imaged using atomic force microscopy. The images were then used to determine the characteristic exponents which described the surface. In each case the Hurst exponent, H was found to rapidly increase from the initial substrate condition to a constant value (H ≈ 0.85) with increasing CaF₂ film thickness. This rapid crossover is quite remarkable and occurs in films with nominal thicknesses less than ≈20 nm. These data indicate that the roughness of the substrate, or in other words the initial conditions, have little effect on the growth properties of CaF₂ films beyond the crossover at very small values of the film thickness. The scaling of the dynamic exponent, β, is also presented as are measurements of the CaF₂ film porosity.     

Height and roughness distributions in thin films with Kardar-Parisi-Zhang scaling

We study height and roughness distributions of films grown with discrete Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) models in a small time regime which is expected to parallel the typical experimental conditions. Those distributions are measured with square windows of sizes 8 ? r ? 128 gliding through a much larger surface. Results for models with weak finite-size corrections indicate that the absolute value of the skewness and the value of the kurtosis of height distributions converge to 0.2 ? ∣S∣ ? 0.3 and 0 ? Q ? 0.5, respectively. Despite the low accuracy of these results, they give additional support to a recent claim of KPZ scaling in oligomer films. However, there are significant finite-size effects in the scaled height distributions of models with large local slopes, such as ballistic deposition, which suggests that comparison of height distributions must not be used to rule out KPZ scaling. On the other hand, roughness distributions of the same models show good data collapse, with negligible dependence on time and window size. The estimates of skewness and kurtosis for roughness distributions are 1.7 ? S ? 2 and 3 ? Q ? 7. A stretched exponential tail was found, which seems to be a particular feature of KPZ systems in 2 + 1 dimensions. Moreover, the KPZ roughness distributions cannot be fitted by those of 1/f^α noise. This study suggests that the roughness distribution is the best option to test KPZ scaling in the growth regime, and provides quantitative data for future comparison with other models or experiments.     

D-brane models and flux supersymmetry breaking

We describe recent work on constructing four-dimensional string models with moduli stabilized by field strength fluxes and chiral gauge sectors close to the Standard Model from D-brane configurations. We discuss how the interplay of both ingredients relates to phenomenological issues, in particular the appearance of soft terms on the D-brane gauge sector induce from non-supersymmetric flux backgrounds. To cite this article: A.M. Uranga, C. R. Physique 5 (2004).

Résumé

Nous décrivons des travaux récents de constructions de modèles de cordes à 4 dimensions ayant des modules stabilisés par des flux, ainsi que des secteurs chiraux de jauge proches du modèle standard, réalisés à partir de configurations de D-branes. Nous expliquons comment les liens entre les différents ingrédients relient des aspects phénoménologiques, en particulier l'apparition de termes doux dans le secteur de jauge des D-branes à partir de champs de fonds non-supersymétriques avec flux. Pour citer cet article : A.M. Uranga, C. R. Physique 5 (2004).     

Anomalous Scaling of Surface Growth Equations with Spatially and Temporally Correlated Noise

Based on the scaling idea of local slopes by Lopez et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 94 （2005） 166103], we investigate anomalous dynamic scaling of （d ＋ 1）-dimensional surface growth equations with spatially and temporally correlated noise. The growth equations studied include the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang （KPZ）, Sun-Guo-Grant （SGG）, and Lai-Das Sarma-Villain （LDV） equations. The anomalous scaling exponents in both the weak- and strong-coupling regions are obtained, respectively.     

Surface phonon polariton characteristics of bulk wurtzite ZnO crystal

The surface phonon polariton (SPP) mode of bulk wurtzite (α-) zinc oxide (ZnO) crystal is investigated by means of p-polarized infrared attenuated total reflection (ATR) spectroscopy. From the ATR spectrum, a strong absorption dip corresponds to the SPP mode of bulk α-ZnO is clearly observed at 529 cm⁻¹. The experimental SPP mode showed good agreement with the theoretical SPP mode deduced from the surface polariton dispersion curve generated by the semi-infinite anisotropic crystal model.     

Structure and mechanical properties of high-porosity macroscopic agglomerates formed by random ballistic deposition

We present experimental results on the mechanical properties of macroscopic agglomerates formed by ballistic hit-and-stick deposition. The agglomerates, produced with a new experimental method, consist of monodisperse SiO2 spheres with 1.5 microm diameter and have a volume filling factor of phi=0.15, matching very closely the theoretical value for random ballistic deposition. They are mechanically stable against unidirectional compression of up to 500 Pa. For pressures above that value, the volume filling factor increases to a maximum of phi=0.33 for pressures above 10(5) Pa. The tensile strength of slightly compressed samples (phi=0.2) is 1000 Pa.     

Surface and transport properties of Au-In liquid alloys

Thermodynamic quantities on Au-In liquid alloys have been used as the input data for the interaction parameter calculations in the framework of the complex formation model (CFM). Once the interaction energies are computed the surface (surface tension and surface composition) and transport properties (chemical diffusion and viscosity) as well as the microscopic functions (concentration fluctuations in the long-wavelength limit and chemical short-range order parameter) have been calculated. The concentration and temperature dependent surface tension values have been compared with our new set of experimental data, obtained by the large drop method in the temperature range of T = 1273-1493 K. The anomalous change of surface tension for some alloy compositions may be attributed to a retention of order in the Au-In melts which is similar to the atomic arrangement in solid Au-In.