Changes in wetting and energetic properties of glass caused by deposition of different lipid layers

An investigation of wetting and energetic properties of different lipid layers deposited on the glass surface was carried out by contact angles measurements and determination of the apparent surface free energy. The topography of the lipid layers was also determined with the help of atomic force microscopy (AFM). Two synthetic phospholipids were chosen for these studies, having the same phosphatidylcholine headgroup bound to the apolar part composed either by two saturated chains (1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospshocholine - DPPC) or two unsaturated chains (1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine - DOPC) and one lipid (1,2,3-trihexadecanoyl-sn-glycerol - tripalmitoylglycerol - TPG). The lipid layers, from the 1st to the 5th statistical monolayer, were deposited on the glass surface from chloroform solutions by spreading.The apparent surface free energy of the deposited layers was determined by contact angles measurements (advancing and receding) for three probe liquids (diiodomethane, water, and formamide), and then two concepts of interfacial interactions were applied. In the contact angle hysteresis approach (CAH) the apparent total surface free energy was calculated from the advancing and receding contact angles and surface tension of probe liquids. In the Lifshitz-van der Waals/acid-base approach (LWAB) the total surface free energy was calculated from the determined components of the energy, which were obtained from the advancing contact angles of the probe liquids only. Comparison of the results obtained by two approaches provided more information about the changes in the hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity of the layers depending on the number of monolayers and kind of the lipid deposited on the glass surface.It was found that the most visible changes in the surface free energy took place for the first two statistical monolayers irrespectively of the kind of the lipid used. Additionally, in all cases periodic oscillations from layer-to-layer in the lipid surface free energy were observed. The changes in the surface free energy correlated with those in the topography and roughness of lipid layers.     

正癸烷纳米液滴润湿特性的分子动力学研究

流体液滴在固体表面的浸润性对其润滑性能至关重要.本文利用分子动力学方法研究了正癸烷纳米液滴在铜表面上的润湿特性.结果表明：在平坦光滑表面上,壁面的厚度和分子数目对润湿效果影响不大.随着壁面能量势阱参数εs 增大,接触角线性减小.随着温度升高,液滴的接触角减小.在沟槽粗糙表面上,随着粗糙度因子增大,对于疏液表面,接触角增大到一定值后基本保持不变,符合Cassie理论;中性和亲液表面接触角则会减小,为Wenzel润湿模式.当表面分数增大时,疏液与亲液表面接触角整体呈减小的趋势,对中性表面影响不大.当温度升高时,粗糙疏液表面接触角会增大,润湿效果更差,而粗糙中性和亲液表面液滴润湿性会更好.     

Effect of magnesium addition on the wetting of alumina by aluminium

In this report the wetting behaviour between polycrystalline alumina substrates and molten aluminium doped with magnesium as a wetting agent has been studied using the sessile drop technique. The time required for equilibrium attainment is investigated. To explore the formation of possible phases at the interface, electron microscopic studies along with EDX analysis have been employed. It is found that magnesium reduces the time and temperature required for equilibrium in the Al/Al₂O₃ system. The Al-7 wt% Mg and Al-10 wt% Mg alloys can wet alumina at temperatures as low as 900 °C. It is also found that molten aluminium doped with magnesium can wet polycrystalline alumina at temperatures below 1000 °C. A thin reaction layer was observed at the Al-Mg/Al₂O₃ interface in the present study.     

Characteristics of ZrC/ZrN and ZrC/TiN multilayers grown by pulsed laser deposition

ZrC/ZrN and ZrC/TiN multilayers were grown on (1 0 0) Si substrates at 300 °C by the pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique using a KrF excimer laser. X-ray diffraction investigations showed that films were crystalline, the strain and grain size depending on the nature and pressure of the gas used during deposition. The elemental composition, analyzed by Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), showed that films contained a low level of oxygen contamination. Simulations of the X-ray reflectivity (XRR) curves acquired from films indicated a smooth surface morphology, with roughness below 1 nm (rms) and densities very close to bulk values.Nanoindentation results showed that the ZrC/ZrN and ZrC/TiN multilayer samples exhibited hardness values between 30 and 33 GPa, slightly higher than the values of 28-30 GPa measured for pure ZrC, TiN and ZrN films.     

Wetting characteristics of ZnO smooth film and nanowire structure with and without OTS coating

ZnO is an important material that is used in a variety of technologies including optical devices, sensors, and other microsystems. In many of these technologies, wettability is of great concern because of its implications in numerous surface related interactions. In this work, the effects of surface morphology and surface energy on the wetting characteristics of ZnO were investigated. ZnO specimens were prepared in both smooth film and nanowire structure in order to investigate the effects of surface morphology. Also, a hydrophobic octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) coating was used to chemically modify the surface energy of the ZnO surface. Wettability of the surfaces was assessed by measuring the water contact angle. The results showed that the water contact angle varied significantly with surface morphology as well as surface energy. OTS coated ZnO nanowire specimen had the highest contact angle of 150°, which corresponded to a superhydrophobic surface. This was a drastic difference from the contact angle of 87° obtained for the smooth ZnO film specimen. In addition to the initial contact angle, the evolution of the water droplet with respect to time was investigated. The wetting state of water droplet was analyzed with both Wenzel and Cassie-Baxter models. Spontaneous and gradual spreading, together with evaporation phenomenon contributed to the changing shape, and hence the varying contact angle, of the water droplet over time.     

Deformation of slow liquid and solid clusters upon deposition: A molecular-dynamics study of Al cluster impact on an Al surface

Using molecular-dynamics simulation, we investigate the self-deposition of Al_n clusters (n < 4000) on an Al substrate at velocities below the velocity of sound. Both cold crystalline and hot liquid clusters are studied. We examine the cluster deformation after impact on the surface, which we quantify by its height and base radius. At a given cluster velocity, the shape of deposited crystalline clusters is rather independent of the cluster size; only at small cluster sizes, n ? 40, the clusters are less strongly deformed. With increasing cluster size, liquid clusters are more strongly deformed than crystalline clusters. Faster projectiles become more strongly flattened by the deposition process. Even clusters depositing with vanishing velocity show a finite deformation, which is considerable for smaller clusters. At large cluster speed, clusters penetrate deeper into the (1 0 0) surface than into the (1 1 1) surface and also deform more strongly.     

The wetting behaviour of silver on carbon, pure and carburized nickel, cobalt and molybdenum substrates

Properties such as thermal and electrical conductivity or the expansion behaviour of silver matrix composites with carbon based inclusions are strongly affected by the contact angle between carbon and silver. In order to promote wetting of carbon, insertion of metallic interlayers such as nickel, cobalt or molybdenum is a feasible approach. This paper presents contact angle measurements done with the sessile drop method on carbon substrates (glassy carbon, polycrystalline graphite) and on pure nickel, cobalt and molybdenum foils. The ability of these interlayer elements to lower the high contact angles of silver on glassy carbon (117°) and polycrystalline graphite (124°) under vacuum conditions was verified. Unlike nickel (30°) and cobalt (26°), molybdenum (107°) nevertheless was not wettable by liquid silver (at 1273 K) under vacuum conditions. ToF-SIMS was used to identify oxygen on the surface, causing higher contact angles than expected. After oxide reduction a contact angle of 18° on molybdenum was detected. Furthermore, the influence of carbon diffusion on the contact angle was investigated by gas phase carburization of the metal foils. ToF-SIMS and XRD identified dissolved carbon (Ni, Co) and carbide formation (Mo). However, only nickel and cobalt showed a slight decrease of the contact angle due to carbon uptake.     

The effect of nonmagnetic defects on magnetic behavior for multilayers Ta/Co/Co3O4/Ta

The exchange bias field H_E was much higher for Ta/Co/Co₃O₄/Ta than Ta/Co/Co₃O₄, fabricated in a magnetron sputtering system under the same experimental conditions. The XPS analysis showed that Ta atoms of cap layer for Ta/Co/Co₃O₄/Ta diffused into Co₃O₄ layer and reduced Co₃O₄, and introduced some nonmagnetic defects into the AFM layer. The dilution of the AFM layer led to the formation of volume domains. We believed that the higher H_E for the multilayers Ta/Co/Co₃O₄/Ta was primarily attributed to the formation of volume domain due to some nonmagnetic defects in AFM layer.     

Simulation of wetting and drying at solid-fluid interfaces on the Delft Molecular Dynamics Processor

The adsorption is studied of a fluid at a structured solid substrate by means of computer simulations on the Delft Molecular Dynamics Processor. Two types of particles are present, 2904 of one type for building a three-layer substrate and about 8500 of another type for composing the fluid. Interactions between like and unlike atoms are modeled by pair potentials of Lennard-Jones form cut off at 2.5. Simulations are performed at constant temperature and variable ratio of substrate-adsorbate to adsorbate-adsorbate attraction. On the basis of measurements of density profiles, coverages, surface tensions, and contact angles, a wetting as well as a drying phase transition have been identified. Both transitions are of first order.     

Effects of Nd:YAG laser treatment on the wettability characteristics of a zirconia-based bioceramic

By enhancing the wettability characteristics of a zirconia-based bioceramic, magnesia partially stabilised zirconia (MgO–PSZ) using Nd:YAG laser irradiation, beneficial changes in the way biological fluids interact with the material will be achieved. This will consequently improve the bone–implant interface. Contact angle measurements revealed that the Nd:YAG laser-treated MgO–PSZ exhibited a considerable reduction in contact angle, θ, implying that laser treatment brought about improved wettability characteristics of this material. The changes in surface properties generated by the laser irradiation and their effects on the wettability characteristics of the MgO–PSZ were analysed. Notably, the complete melting and solidified different microstructure following laser treatment gave rise to the maximum wettability characteristics. It was found that although the increase in surface roughness is the factor influencing the wettability characteristics, it only plays a minor role. Both the enhancement in surface oxygen content and the increase in polar component of surface energy, , were seen to be influential factors in determining the wettability characteristics of the MgO–PSZ. Moreover, the increase in was found to be the chief mechanism governing the change in wettability characteristics of the MgO–PSZ.     

The effect of Me-Ti inter-atomic interactions on wetting in CaF2/(Me-Ti) systems: Ab-initio considerations

CaF₂ is a thermodynamically stable, non-reactive compound, displaying a relatively high contact angle with pure liquid metals. A remarkable decrease of this contact angle takes place when small amounts of Ti are added to liquid In, while a relatively small change of the contact angle is observed when it was added to liquid Sn. In order to understand the reason for this different behavior, ab-initio calculations were carried out in the framework of Density Functional Theory. The effect of the In-Ti and Sn-Ti inter-atomic interactions in the vicinity of CaF₂(1 1 1) slab is discussed using the results of modest calculations for several Me-Ti configurations on CaF₂(1 1 1) slabs. The results of the calculations indicate that the level of the interaction between the Me and the Ti atom affects the (Me-Ti)/CaF₂ interface composition, the interfacial energy and the wetting behavior.For the system with stronger inter-atomic attraction in the melt (Sn-Ti alloys), Ti atoms prefer to be surrounded by Sn atoms, and only weakly affect the metal/substrate interfacial energy and, thus the observed contact angle. However, for weak inter-atomic attraction (In-Ti alloys) an enhanced Ti adsorption at the metal/substrate interface takes place and leads to decrease the interfacial energy and improved wetting. The differences in the wetting behavior for these systems are discussed in terms of the total energy of each system, the electron charge re-distribution and the electron Density of States.     

The effect of working pressure on the chemical bond structure and hydrophobic properties of PET surface treated by N ion beams bombardment

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) surface was bombarded by N ion beams at room temperature. Varying the working pressure of the ion beams, PET surfaces with different composition and properties were obtained. Characterization by X-ray photoelectron spectrometry showed that only on film surface, ester bonds, especially C-O bonds, were broken and N element chemical bonded with C. The influence depth was less than 5 nm because of the lower ion energy (about 10³ eV). Contact angle results revealed that with increasing the working pressure of ion beams, the contact angle of PET surface to pure water increased from 51° to 130°. With these results, one conclusion could be deduced that the hydrophilic and hydrophobic properties of PET surface could be influenced by N atom chemical bond with C, which in turn is controlled by the working pressure of N ion beams.     

微波化学气相沉积中气压对金刚石薄膜生长速率和质量的影响

研究了微波化学气相沉积中沉积气压对金刚石薄膜生长速率和质量的影响.研究表明，金刚石薄膜的生长速率随沉积气压的提高而增大，生长速率与沉积气压为线性关系.在高沉积气压下生长的金刚石薄膜晶形完整，拉曼谱测量可得到锐利的金刚石相的峰，但电压-电流测量表明，随着制备时沉积气压的提高，金刚石薄膜的暗电流增大，膜的电学质量下降. 关键词： 金刚石薄膜 生长速率 沉积气压     

The effect of deposition temperature on the intermixing and microstructure of Fe/Ni thin film

The physical vapour deposition of Ni atoms on α-Fe(001) surface under different deposition temperatures were simulated by molecular dynamics to study the intermixing and microstructure of the interfacial region. The results indicate that Ni atoms hardly penetrate into Fe substrate while Fe atoms easily diffuse into Ni deposition layers. The thickness of the intermixing region is temperature-dependent, with high temperatures yielding larger thicknesses. The deposited layers are mainly composed of amorphous phase due to the abnormal deposition behaviour of Ni and Fe. In the deposited Ni-rich phase, the relatively stable metallic compound B₂ structured FeNi is found under high deposition temperature conditions.     

Direct observation of slow morphological transformations and wetting behavior of pulsed laser deposited sub-monolayer gold on (0 0 0 1) sapphire in atmosphere

Using high-resolution atomic force microscope we observed in ambient atmosphere the slow morphological transitions of the incipient adlayer of gold grown on (0 0 0 1) sapphire substrate by pulsed laser deposition. The equivalent average uniform thickness of the gold deposition was about 0.55 Å, which is about one-fourth of its monolayer. A dynamic simulation revealed that about 10% of the gold was implanted into the substrate up to the depth of about 3.3 nm and the top monolayer of the sapphire surface was almost completely depleted of oxygen atoms due to the preferential sputtering by the plume particles. The gold adlayer transformed into a labile phase which enhanced the surface roughness and had a preferred orientation of a wavy structure during 24 h of the deposition. The auto-correlation function of this wavy structure in labile metastable phase revealed two-fold symmetry and provided a preferential size of about 4 nm (peak to peak) with a mean separation of 8 nm. At the end of about 6 days this phase was found to completely transform into an apparently de-wetted phase of beads with average in-plane diameter of ∼20 nm and height of ∼7 nm having large size distribution. Each bead was seen to have coating of a concentric corona layer, which might be that of the condensed moisture or other gaseous species from atmosphere because subjecting these samples to vacuum removed this layer. These observations shed light on the dynamics of the pulsed laser deposited metastable gold adlayer in the incipient stage of its growth on sapphire and their wetting or de-wetting mechanisms in ambient atmosphere.     

The effect of substrate material on pulsed laser deposition of HgCdTe films

This paper describes some recent results of the HgCdTe thin film grown directly on different substrates (sapphire, GaAs and Si) by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). The influences of the substrate material on the properties of HgCdTe thin films were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), selected area electron diffraction (SAED), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). It was found that the quality of the HgCdTe film has a strong relation to the structure and properties of the substrate. The experiment results indicate that the HgCdTe epitaxial thin films grown directly on the sapphire substrates have a high quality, and the composition of the films is close to that of the target. While the quality of the HgCdTe films deposited on the Si and GaAs substrates are not very good.     

Effect of composition and deposition temperature on the characteristics of Ga doped ZnO thin films

ZnO films doped with Ga (GZO) of varying composition were prepared on Corning glass substrate by radio frequency magnetron sputtering at various deposition temperatures of room temperature, 150, 250 and 400 °C, and their temperature dependent photoelectric and structural properties were correlated with Ga composition. With increasing deposition temperature, the Ga content, at which the lowest electrical resistivity and the best crystallinity were observed, decreased. Films with optimal electrical resistivity of 2-3 × 10⁻⁴ Ω cm and with good crystallinity were obtained in the substrate temperature range from 150 to 250 °C, and the corresponding C_Ga/(C_Ga + C_Zn) atomic ratio was about 0.049. GZO films grown at room temperature had coarse columnar structure and low optical transmittance, while films deposited at 400 °C yielded the highest figure of merit (FOM) due to very low optical absorption despite rather moderate electrical resistivity slightly higher than 4 × 10⁻⁴ Ω cm. The optimum Ga content at which the maximum figure of merit was obtained decreased with increasing deposition temperature.     

Model-dependent nature of blowtorch effect on the escape and equilibration rates

We analyze the relaxation behavior of a bistable system when the background temperature profile is inhomogeneous due to the presence of a localized hot region (blowtorch) on one side of the potential barrier. Since the diffusion equation for inhomogeneous medium is model-dependent, we consider two physical models to study the kinetics of such system. Using a conventional stochastic method, we obtain the escape and equilibration rates of the system for the two physical models. For both models, we find that the hot region enhances the escape rate from the well where it is placed while it retards the escape rate from the other well. However, the value of the escape rate from the well where the hot region is placed differs for the two models while that of the escape rate from the other well is identical for both. This work, for the first time, gives a detailed report of the similarities and differences of the escape rates and, hence, exposes the common and distinct features of the two known physical models in determining the way the bistable system relaxes. Received 25 September 2001     

Modelling potassium release and the effect of potassium chloride on deposition mechanisms for coal and biomass-fired boilers

A model, predicting the release of potassium compounds and its effect on the deposition of superheaters, has been recently developed. The model has been implemented into the three-dimensional CFD program AIOLOS. Concerning the release of potassium compound, the vaporization of the potassium and its reactions in the gas phase are considered. The influence of turbulence on chemistry is considered by using the eddy dissipation concept. Two simulations, one for a coal with high content of chlorine and the other for a coal with low content of chlorine were performed on a small-scale entrained flow reactor. The modelling results are discussed and compared with measurements. Furthermore, the effect of the released potassium chloride on the deposition mechanisms has also been considered. In order to predict the deposition rate, two major deposition mechanisms i.e. condensation and inertial impaction are considered in the model. The sticking probability is modelled based on the melting behaviour of the species involved in the deposition process. Deposit formation in a 0.5 MW semi-industrial pulverized-fuel combustion test facility is predicted considering different operating conditions. Deposition rates on the deposition probe from two kinds of biomass are compared and discussed.     

The v6 = 1 and v6 = 2 vibrational states of DCF3

The high-resolution infrared spectra of DCF₃ were reinvestigated in the ν₆ fundamental band region near 500 cm⁻¹ and around 1000 cm⁻¹ with the aim to assign and analyze the overtone level of the asymmetric CF₃ bending vibration v₆ = 2.The present paper reports on the first study of both its sublevels (A₁ and E corresponding to l = 0 and ±2, respectively) through the high-resolution analysis of the overtone band and the hot and bands.The well-known “loop method”, applied to and , yielded ground state energy differences Δ(K, J) = E₀(K, J) − E₀(K − 3,J) for the range of K = 6 to 30.In the final fitting of molecular parameters, we used the strategy of fitting all upper state data together with the ground state rotational transitions.This is equivalent to that calculating separately the and coefficients of the K-dependent part of the ground state energy terms from the combination loops.All rotational constants of the ground state up to sextic order could be refined in the calculation.This led to a very accurate determination of C₀ = 0.18924413(25) cm⁻¹, , and also .In the course of analyzing simultaneously the overtone band together with the and ν₆ bands, the original assignment of the fundamental ν₆ band [Bürger et al., J. Mol. Spectrosc. 182 (1997) 34-49] was found to be incompatible with the present one. Assignments of the (k + 1, l₆ = +1)/(k − 1,l₆ = −1) levels had to be interchanged, which changed the value of Cζ₆ = −0.14198768(26) cm⁻¹ and the sign of the combination of constants C − B − Cζ in the v₆ = 1 level to a negative value.