Interaction between model poly(ethylene terephthalate) thin films and weakly ionised oxygen plasma

Model films of poly(ethylene terephthalate) were treated by oxygen plasma in order to quantify the etching rate and estimate the contribution of charged and neutral particles to the reaction probability. Model films with a thickness of 50 nm were deposited on a quartz crystal of a microbalance (QCM) by spin‐coating technique. The samples were exposed to oxygen plasma with the positive ion density of 4 × 10¹⁵ m^?3 and neutral oxygen atom density of 6 × 10²¹ m^?3. The etching rate was determined from the QCM signal and was 4.7 nm s^?1. The etching was found rather inhomogeneous as the atomic force microscopic images showed an increase of the surface roughness as a result of plasma treatment. The model films were completely removed from the surface of the quartz crystals in about 12 s. Knowing the etching rate and the flux of oxygen atoms to the surface allowed for calculation of the reaction probability which was found to be rather low at the value of 1.6 × 10^?4. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Surface modification of polyester by oxygen‐ and nitrogen‐plasma treatment

In this paper, we present a study on the surface modification of polyethyleneterephthalate (PET) polymer by plasma treatment. The samples were treated by nitrogen and oxygen plasma for different time periods between 3 and 90 s. The plasma was created by a radio frequency (RF) generator. The gas pressure was fixed at 75 Pa and the discharge power was set to 200 W. The samples were treated in the glow region, where the electrons temperature was about 4 eV, the positive ions density was about 2 × 10¹⁵ m^?3, and the neutral atom density was about 4 × 10²¹ m^?3 for oxygen and 1 × 10²¹ m^?3 for nitrogen. The changes in surface morphology were observed by using atomic force microscopy (AFM). Surface wettability was determined by water contact angle measurements while the chemical composition of the surface was analyzed using XPS. The stability of functional groups on the polymer surface treated with plasma was monitored by XPS and wettability measurements in different time intervals. The oxygen‐plasma‐treated samples showed much more pronounced changes in the surface topography compared to those treated by nitrogen plasma. The contact angle of a water drop decreased from 75° for the untreated sample to 20° for oxygen and 25° for nitrogen‐plasma‐treated samples for 3 s. It kept decreasing with treatment time for both plasmas and reached about 10° for nitrogen plasma after 1 min of plasma treatment. For oxygen plasma, however, the contact angle kept decreasing even after a minute of plasma treatment and eventually fell below a few degrees. We found that the water contact angle increased linearly with the O/C ratio or N/C ratio in the case of oxygen or nitrogen plasma, respectively. Ageing effects of the plasma‐treated surface were more pronounced in the first 3 days; however, the surface hydrophilicity was rather stable later. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Etching of polyethylene terephthalate thin films by neutral oxygen atoms in the late flowing afterglow of oxygen plasma

Films of polyethylene terephthalate were deposited on quartz crystals and exposed to oxygen atoms to study their etching characteristics and quantify the etching rate. Oxygen (O) atoms were created by passing molecular oxygen through plasma created in a microwave discharge. The discharge power was fixed at 250 W, while the pressure of oxygen was 50 Pa. Before exposure to oxygen atoms, a thin polymer film of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) was deposited uniformly over a crystal with a diameter of 12 mm. The crystal was mounted on a quartz crystal microbalance to accurately determine the thickness of the polymer film. The polymer film was exposed to O atoms in the flowing afterglow. The density of O atoms was measured with a cobalt catalytic probe mounted next to the sample and was determined to be 1.2 × 10²¹ m^–3. Samples were treated with O atoms for different periods of up to 120 min. The thickness of the film decreased linearly with treatment time. After 90 min of treatment, a 65‐nm‐thick polymer film was completely removed. Therefore, the etching rate was 0.5 nm/min, so the interaction probability between an O atom and an atom in the sample was extremely low, just 1.4 × 10^–6. Samples treated for different periods were investigated by atomic force microscopy and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy to examine the etching characteristics of O atoms in the flowing afterglow. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Density of O-atoms in an Afterglow Reactor During Treatment of Wool

Density of neutral oxygen atoms in the ground state has been measured during treatment of wool fabric samples. Samples were placed in an afterglow reactor with a volume of about 5 l, which was pumped with a two stage rotary pump with the nominal pumping speed of 28 m³/h. The source of the oxygen atoms was a microwave discharge operating in the surfatron mode at 2.45 GHz and adjustable output power up to 300 W. The density of O-atoms in the afterglow chamber was measured with a fiber-optics catalytic probe. For the empty reactor, the O density depended on discharge parameters and was between 0.8 and 2.8 × 10²¹ m⁻³ at 40 and 50 Pa respectively. During the treatment of wool, the O density depended largely on the exposure time. For untreated samples, the O density was below the detection limit of the probe, while prolonged treatment allowed for recovering the O density. The recovery always occurred after having submitted wool samples to the dose of the order of 10²³ atoms/m². The results were explained by oxidation of the thin lipid layer on the surface of the wool fibres.     

Cleaning of Porous Aluminium Titanate by Oxygen Plasma

The removal of organic contaminants from porous Al₂TiO₅ during treatment in oxygen plasma was studied by optical emission spectroscopy (OES). The samples of Al₂TiO₅ were immersed into water emulsion of mineral oil for 3 h to get soaked. Then, they were thoroughly cleaned in ultrasound to remove oil from the surface. Samples were later exposed to RF oxygen plasma at the pressure of 75 Pa. The plasma density was about 2 × 10¹⁶ m⁻³, the electron temperature was about 6 eV and the density of neutral oxygen atoms was about 2 × 10²¹ m⁻³. Optical emission spectra between 200 and 1,000 nm were measured continuously during plasma treatment. The CO peak resulting from oil oxidation reached a well-pronounced maximum between 100 and 150 s of plasma treatment. The maximum in CO corresponded well with a minimum in O peaks. Concentration of oil in the samples was estimated by energy dispersion X-ray analysis. Initially the samples showed high concentration of carbon (about 38 at.%), while after plasma treatment the carbon concentration decreased below the detection limit. The cleaning efficiency was explained by diffusion of oil towards the surface where it was removed by oxidation with oxygen radicals.     

A measurement of the rate of the reaction N + H + M → NH + M

The combination reaction between N and H atoms has been studied in a flow system by mixing H atoms produced by thermal dissociation of H₂ with active nitrogen produced by a microwave discharge. Relative N atom concentrations were determined from the intensity of the yellow nitrogen afterglow. Absolute N and H atom concentrations were measured by EPR absorption spectroscopy. Absolute N atom concentrations were also determined by titration with NO. Upper and lower limits of 6.4 ± 1.5 × 10^?32 and 3.1 ± 1.0 × 10^?32 cm⁶ molecule^?2 sec^?1 were determined for the rate constant.     

Generation of Iron Atoms in the Gas Phase by Microwave‐Induced Plasma Afterglows

A fast‐flow reactor technique is described by which Fe atoms can be produced in the gas phase in the afterglow of microwave‐induced plasmas in hydrogen/argon and hydrogen/helium mixtures. When the iron salt FeCl₃(s) was brought into the gas phase by thermal sublimation at temperatures between 360 and 405 K, it was partly converted to Fe atoms by reaction of the gaseous compounds Fe_xCl_3x(g) with hydrogen atoms. The Fe atoms were detected by atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). It was shown that sublimation of the salt is the rate‐determining step of the overall plasma‐afterglow atomisation process. Experimental conditions for the generation of Fe atoms suited to kinetic studies start at a temperature of 303 K. In the downstream region the concentration of Fe atoms decays due to diffusion to the reactor wall. Binary diffusion coefficients D_Fe/Ar and D_Fe/He of 231.5±6.6 and 370.0±15.5 cm² s^?1 Torr at 303 K, respectively, were determined.     

Nonisothermal melting and crystallization of polypropylene in model composites: Kinetic analysis

The kinetics of nonisothermal melting and the crystallization of polypropylene (PP) in polypropylene/carbon‐fiber (C/PP) composites were studied by differential scanning calorimetry with the Nedkov and Atanasov method. Characteristic parameters such as the lamellar thickness, the transport energy through the phase boundary, and the surface free energy were determined and analyzed. In nonisothermal melting, the nucleation effect of carbon fibers was confirmed by decreasing transport energy (79 and 41 kJ/mol for PP and C/PP, respectively) and surface free energy (8 × 10^?4 and 7.9 × 10^?5 J/m² for PP and C/PP, respectively). Depending on the carbon‐fiber content, the lamellar thickness changed from 6.7 × 10^?9 m to 9.05 × 10^?9 m. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 43: 66–73, 2005     

Effects of pH and Concentration on Cs Ions Sorption and Diffusion in Crushed Granite by Using Batch and Modified Capillary Method

A comprehensive evaluation of Cs ions sorption to and diffusion in crushed granite was conducted in this study. The sorption capacity of crushed granite suggested by the Langmuir model was 5.48 × 10^?6 mol‐Cs/g‐granite. The distribution coefficient (Kd) was around 7.5 mL/g and pH independent. By using an in‐diffusion method with a modified capillary column, some diffusion relevant parameters of Cs ions in crushed granite were derived. The apparent diffusion coefficient (Da) seemed unaffected by Cs concentration (1.15 × 10^?10 to 2.82 × 10^?10 m²/s, at 10^?7 and 10^?3 M, respectively). The determined effective diffusion coefficients (De) were located in the window from 8.59 × 10^?10 (10^?7 M) to 1.69 × 10^?9 (10^?3 M) m²/s. Under various pH environments, pH independent Da (9.0 × 10^?9 m²/s) and De (1.0 × 10^?9 m²/s) values were observed. Under current systems, consistently higher De than Da implied the diffusion of Cs ions was governed by surface diffusion phenomenon. Whereas the pH insensitive feature indicated the Cs sorption to crushed granite was mainly through ion‐exchange reaction. Moreover, further SEM/EDS mapping clearly showed the adsorbed Cs ions were highly concentrated on the fracture surface of biotite.     

A Tandem Mass Spectrometric Method for Singlet Oxygen Measurement

Singlet oxygen, a harmful reactive oxygen species, can be quantified with the substance 2,2,6,6‐tetramethylpiperidine (TEMP) that reacts with singlet oxygen, forming a stable nitroxyl radical (TEMPO). TEMPO has earlier been quantified with electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. In this study, we designed an ultra–high‐performance liquid chromatographic—tandem mass spectrometric (UHPLC‐ESI‐MS/MS) quantification method for TEMPO and showed that the method based on multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) can be used for the measurements of singlet oxygen from both nonbiological and biological samples. Results obtained with both UHPLC‐ESI‐MS/MS and EPR methods suggest that plant thylakoid membranes produce 3.7 × 10^?7 molecules of singlet oxygen per chlorophyll molecule in a second when illuminated with the photosynthetic photon flux density of 2000 μmol m^?2 s^?1.     

Nitrogen‐Doped Carbon Monolith for Alkaline Supercapacitors and Understanding Nitrogen‐Induced Redox Transitions

A nitrogen‐doped porous carbon monolith was synthesized as a pseudo‐capacitive electrode for use in alkaline supercapacitors. Ammonia‐assisted carbonization was used to dope the surface with nitrogen heteroatoms in a way that replaced carbon atoms but kept the oxygen content constant. Ammonia treatment expanded the micropore size‐distributions and increased the specific surface area from 383 m² g^?1 to 679 m² g^?1. The nitrogen‐containing porous carbon material showed a higher capacitance (246 F g^?1) in comparison with the nitrogen‐free one (186 F g^?1). Ex situ electrochemical spectroscopy was used to investigate the evolution of the nitrogen‐containing functional groups on the surface of the N‐doped carbon electrodes in a three‐electrode cell. In addition, first‐principles calculations were explored regarding the electronic structures of different nitrogen groups to determine their relative redox potentials. We proposed possible redox reaction pathways based on the calculated redox affinity of different groups and surface analysis, which involved the reversible attachment/detachment of hydroxy groups between pyridone and pyridine. The oxidation of nitrogen atoms in pyridine was also suggested as a possible reaction pathway.     

Rate constants for the gas‐phase reactions of chlorine atoms with 1,4‐cyclohexadiene and 1,5‐cyclooctadiene at 298 K

Rate constants for the reactions of Cl atoms with two cyclic dienes, 1,4‐cyclohexadiene and 1,5‐cyclooctadiene, have been determined, at 298 K and 800 Torr of N₂, using the relative rate method, with n‐hexane and 1‐butene as reference molecules. The concentrations of the organics are followed by gas chromatographic analysis. The ratios of the rate constants of reactions of Cl atoms with 1,4‐cyclohexadiene and 1,5‐cyclooctadiene to that with n‐hexane are measured to be 1.29 ± 0.06 and 2.19 ± 0.32, respectively. The corresponding ratios with respect to 1‐butene are 1.50 ± 0.16 and 2.36 ± 0.38. The absolute values of the rate constants of the reaction of Cl atom with n‐hexane and 1‐butene are considered as (3.15 ± 0.40) × 10^?10 and (3.21 ± 0.40) × 10^{? 10} cm³ molecule^?1s^?1, respectively. With these, the calculated values are k(Cl + 1,4‐cyclohexadiene) = (4.06 ± 0.55) × 10^?10 and k(Cl + 1,5‐cyclooctadiene) = (6.90 ± 1.33) × 10^?10 cm³ molecule^?1 s^?1 with respect to n‐hexane. The rate constants determined with respect to 1‐butene are marginally higher, k(Cl + 1,4‐cyclohexadiene) = (4.82 ± 0.80) × 10^{? 10} and k(Cl + 1,5‐cyclooctadiene) = (7.58 ± 1.55) × 10^{? 10} cm³ molecule^?1 s^?1. The experiments for each molecule were repeated three to five times, and the slopes and the rate constants given above are the average values of these measurements, with 2σ as the quoted error, including the error in the reference rate constant. The relative rate ratios of 1,4‐cyclohexadiene with both the reference molecules are found to be higher in the presence of oxygen, and a marginal increase is observed in the case of 1,5‐cyclooctadiene. Benzene is identified as one major product in the case of 1,4‐cyclohexadiene. Considering that the cyclohexadienyl radical, a product of the hydrogen abstraction reaction, is quantitatively converted to benzene in the presence of oxygen, the fraction of Cl atoms that reacts by abstraction is estimated to be 0.30 ± 0.04. The atmospheric implications of the results are discussed. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 43: 431–440, 2011     

Quantification issues of trace metals analysis on silicon oxide and nitride films by using VPD‐ICP‐MS and VPD‐GF‐AAS

Vapor phase decomposition (VPD) is a pretreatment technique for collecting trace metal contaminants on the surface of a Si wafer. Such trace metals can be identified and quantified by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP‐MS) or graphite furnace atomic absorption spectroscopy (GF‐AAS). However, the analytical results can be influenced by the Si‐matrix in the VPD samples. This article discusses the approaches to eliminate the interference caused by Si‐matrix. When the thickness of oxide film on wafer surface is less than 100 Å, the quantification results of ICP‐MS analysis will not be affected by Si‐matrix in the VPD samples. Except this, the Si‐matrix must be removed before analysis. An improved heating pretreatment approach has been adopted successfully to eliminate the Si‐matrix. For GF‐AAS analysis, the Si‐matrix will influence the sodium and aluminum analyses. Adding HNO₃ to the graphite furnace tubing after sample injection could also eliminate the interference caused by the Si‐matrix. The method detection limits (MDLs) of VPD‐GF‐AAS and VPD‐ICP‐MS range from 0.04 to 0.55 × 10¹⁰ atoms cm^?2 and 0.05 to 1.73 × 10⁹ atoms cm^?2, respectively. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Study of Activation and Inhibition of Certain Metal Ions to Amylase Catalyzed Reaction by Microcalorimetry

IntroductionMostcomplicatedreactionshappenedinlivingcrea tures ,amongthemenzymecatalyzedreactionisanimpor tantclass .Itissignificantinboththeoryandpracticetoinvestigateenzymecatalyzedreaction .Therearemanyex perimentalmethodssuchasspectrophotometry ,titrimetry ,isotopemethod ,microcalorimetryandsoon ,inwhichmi crocalorimetryisanewoneduetoitshighsensitivityandaccuracy .Wecanstudythewholeprocessoftheheatef fectusingamicrocalorimeter .Sincetheabsorptionorpro ductionofheatisanintrinsicpropertyofe…     

Synthesis and Micellar Behaviors of an Anionic Polymerizable Surfactant

A novel anionic polymerizable surfactant sodium (5‐acryloyl‐2‐(dodecyloxy)phenyl) methane sulfonate has been synthesized from phenol, acrylic acid and bromododecane by esterification, Frise rearrangement, sulfomethylation reaction and Williamson etherification. The parameters of the micellar behaviors are as follows: The CMC was 150 ppm at 40 °C; The surface absorption amounts Γ_m was 3.208 × 10^?6 mol m^?2; The molecular areas A_m was 0.550 × 10^?18m² at the interface of air‐water respectively; The aggregation number (N_agg) at C = CMC of this surfactant was 12.     

Characterization of a passivation layer comprising MgO?SiO2 and ZrO2

Thin films with magnesium oxide (MgO) and silicon oxide (SiO₂) compounds mixed at various mixture ratios were deposited on flexible polyether sulfone (PES) substrates by an e‐beam evaporator to investigate their potential for transparent barrier applications. In this study, as the MgO fraction increased, thin films comprising MgO and SiO₂ compounds became more amorphous, and their surface morphologies became smoother and denser. In addition, zirconium oxide (ZrO₂) was added to the above‐mentioned compound mixtures, and the properties of the compound mixture comprising Mg? Si? Zr? O were then measured. ZrO₂ made the thin mixture films more amorphous, and made the surface morphology denser and more uniform. Whole thin films of 250 ± 30 nm in thickness were formed, and their water vapor transmission rates (WVTRs) decreased rapidly. The best WVTR was obtained by depositing thin films of Mg? Si? Zr? O compound among the whole thin films. The WVTRs of the PES substrate in the bare state decreased from 47 to 0.8 g m^?2 day^?1. This Mg? Si? Zr? O compound was deposited on polyethylene terephtalate (PET) substrates again to confirm the availability of the compound mixture. Thin films on the PET substrates decreased the WVTRs remarkably from 2.96 to 0.01 g m^?2 day^?1. These results were similar to those of thin films on PES substrates. As the thin mixture films became more amorphous and surface morphology denser and more uniform, the WVTRs decreased. Therefore, the thin mixture films became more suitable for flexible organic light emitting displays (OLEDs) as transparent passivation layers against moisture in air. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Survismeter 3‐in‐1 for interfacial tension (IFT), surface tension and viscosity measurements simultaneously

Interfacial tension (IFT) (γ_ift, N m^?1) of benzene‐water; and surface tensions (γ, N m^?1) and viscosities (η, N s m^?2) of solvents methanol, ethanol, glycerol, ethyl acetate, n‐hexane, diethyl ether, chloroform, benzene, carbon tetrachloride [CCl₄], formic acid, Acetonitril, and dimethylformamide [DMF] were measured with Survismeter‐IFT. The ± 1.1 × 10^?5 N m^?1, ± 1.3 × 10^?5 N m^?1, and ± 1.1 × 10^?5 N s m^?2 deviations in respective values were noted. It has 10 times better accuracy than those of individual methods. The survismeter is inexpensive minimizing 2/3 each of consumables, human efforts, time, and infrastructure, cutting down 80% of the waste disposed the environment. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influence of minor alloying elements on the initial stages of oxidation of austenitic stainless steel materials

Surface oxidation of Fe‐19Cr‐17Ni, Fe‐19Cr‐18Ni‐1Al and TiC‐enriched Fe‐19Cr‐18Ni‐1Al alloys was investigated by photoelectron spectroscopy (PES). The experiments were conducted at 323 K in pure O₂ (2.7 × 10^?6 mbar). Composition and morphology of the nanoscale surface oxides were determined quantitatively by inelastic electron background analysis. Moreover, use of synchrotron radiation facilities were necessary to obtain improved sensitivity for studying minor alloying elements such as Al and Si. The results indicate oxygen‐induced segregation of Al, which significantly hinders the oxidation of the major alloying elements Fe and Cr. Ti remains in its inert carbide form. The relative concentration of Fe within the oxide layer was found to increase with the oxide‐layer thickness, indicating greater mobility of Fe relative to other alloying elements. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Adsorption and Decomposition Mechanism of 1,1‐Diamino‐2,2‐dinitroethylene on Al(111) Surface by Periodic DFT Calculations

The adsorption of 1,1‐diamino‐2,2‐dinitroethylene (FOX‐7) molecule on the Al(111) surface was investigated by the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) of density functional theory (DFT). The calculations employ a supercell (4×4×2) slab model and three‐dimensional periodic boundary conditions. The strong attractive forces between oxygen and aluminum atoms induce the N? O bond breaking of the FOX‐7. Subsequently, the dissociated oxygen atoms and radical fragment of FOX‐7 oxidize the Al surface. The largest adsorption energy is ?940.5 kJ/mol. Most of charge transfer is 3.31e from the Al surface to the fragment of FOX‐7 molecule. We also investigated the adsorption and decomposition mechanism of FOX‐7 molecule on the Al(111) surface. The activation energy for the dissociation steps of P2 con?guration is as large as 428.8 kJ/mol, while activation energies of other con?gurations are much smaller, in range of 2.4 to 147.7 kJ/mol.     

Summary of ISO/TC 201 Standard: XIX ISO 17331:2004—Surface chemical analysis—Chemical methods for the collection of elements from the surface of silicon‐wafer working reference materials and their determination by total‐reflection x‐ray fluorescence (TXRF) spectroscopy

This international standard specifies chemical methods for the collection of iron and/or nickel from the surface of silicon‐wafer working reference materials by the vapour‐phase decomposition method or the direct acid droplet decomposition method. The determination of the elements collected may be carried out by total‐reflection x‐ray fluorescence spectroscopy, as well as by graphite‐furnace atomic absorption spectroscopy or inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy. This international standard applies to iron and/or nickel atomic surface densities from 6 × 10⁹ to 5 × 10¹¹ atoms cm^?2. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.