Electron spectroscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy study of quasi-two-dimensional freezing at the liquid/vapor interface of Ga-Bi alloys

We have studied the interfacial characteristics of Ga-rich liquid Ga-Bi alloys at various compositions and temperatures up to 300 degrees C by different electron spectroscopies under ultrahigh vacuum conditions. In particular, the thickness and thickness profiles of Bi-rich wetting and surface freezing films have been measured. It is found that at the surface freezing transition the Bi film thickness jumps from approximately 5 A to macroscopic values of over 100 A. This distinct behavior is discussed in comparison with the results in Ga-Pb. In addition, we report first scanning tunneling microscopy observations of the surface structure of a solidified Ga(0.989)Bi(0.011) alloy after passing a surface freezing transition. The topology at room temperature is characterized by extended, atomically flat Bi terraces covered by nanosized triangular two-dimensional Bi islands.     

Nanometer-thick surficial films in oxides as a case of prewetting

Stable, nanometer-thick films are observed to form at the {1120} facets of Bi(2)O(3)-doped ZnO in several bulk-phase stability fields. Electron microscopy shows these surficial films to exhibit some degree of partial order in quenched samples. The equilibrium film thickness, corresponding to the Gibbs excess solute, decreases monotonically with decreasing temperature until vanishing at a dewetting temperature, well below the eutectic. Assuming that perfect wetting occurs at some higher temperature above the eutectic, as is observed on polycrystal surfaces and at grain boundaries in the same system, the adsorption and wetting events in this system illustrate temperature- and composition-dependent prewetting. The observation of a second class of thicker films coexisting with nanodroplets and a numerical evaluation of thickness versus temperature elucidate the critical role of volumetric thermodynamic terms in determining film stability and thickness. Analogous temperature-dependent surface films involving adsorbed MoO(3) on Al(2)O(3) were also observed.     

Epitaxial BaTiO3(100) films on Pt(100): a low-energy electron diffraction, scanning tunneling microscopy, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy study

The growth of epitaxial ultrathin BaTiO(3) films on a Pt(100) substrate has been studied by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), low-energy electron diffraction (LEED), and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The films have been prepared by radio-frequency-assisted magnetron sputter deposition at room temperature and develop a long-range order upon annealing at 900 K in O(2). By adjusting the Ar and O(2) partial pressures of the sputter gas, the stoichiometry was tuned to match that of a BaTiO(3)(100) single crystal as determined by XPS. STM reveals the growth of continuous BaTiO(3) films with unit cell high islands on top. With LEED already for monolayer thicknesses, the formation of a BaTiO(3)(100)-(1 × 1) structure has been observed. Films of 2-3 unit cell thickness show a brilliant (1 × 1) LEED pattern for which an extended set of LEED I-V data has been acquired. At temperatures above 1050 K the BaTiO(3) thin film starts to decay by formation of vacancy islands. In addition (4 × 4) and (3 × 3) surface reconstructions develop upon prolonged heating.     

Pattern formation and dewetting in thin films of liquids showing complete macroscale wetting: from "pancakes"to "swiss cheese"

Based on the complete 3D numerical solutions of the nonlinear thin film equation, we address the problems of surface instability, dynamics, morphological diversity and evolution in unstable thin films of the liquids that display complete macroscale wetting. The twin constraints of complete macroscale wettability and nanoscale instability produce a variety of microscopic morphological phases approximating sharp crystal surfaces with flat tops resembling a mesa or a micro "pancake" or a slice of Swiss cheese. While the maximum thickness of flat regions is found to be independent of the initial film thickness, the precise lateral morphology of microdomains formed depends on the film thickness. As the film thickness is increased, the initial pathway of evolution changes from the formation of small spherical droplets, to long mesas (parapets) and islands, to circular holes, all of which eventually resolve by ripening into a collection of round pancakes at equilibrium. However, beyond a certain transition thickness, a novel metastable honeycombed morphology, resembling a membrane or a slice of Swiss cheese, is uncovered, which is produced by an abrupt "freezing" of the evolution during hole growth. In contrast, the spinodal dewetting in thin films of partially wettable systems always engenders spherical droplets at equilibrium. The equilibrium dewetted area from simulations, as well as from simple mass balance, is shown to decline linearly with the initial film thickness.     

Temporal evolution of benzenethiolate SAMs on Cu(100)

The structure and thermal stability of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of benzenethiolate (BT) on Cu(100) have been studied by means of thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS), scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), low-energy electron diffraction (LEED), UV photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and near-edge X-ray adsorption fine structure spectroscopy (NEXAFS). Vapor deposition at room temperature yields a well-ordered, densely packed c(6 × 2) saturation structure. At room temperature, this film is, however, metastable and transforms via partial decomposition by cleavage of the S-C bond into a less densely packed layer that reveals a coexisting p(2 × 2) phase. Such a transition occurs on a time scale of several days and is accompanied by a reduction of the work function change with respect to the bare Cu(100) surface from Δ? = -0.9 eV for a freshly prepared saturated layer to -0.5 eV for an aged film. TDS experiments exhibit the presence of two distinct desorption channels (dissociative and intact desorption) occurring at different temperatures that reflects a variation of the local Cu-S interaction strength of BT at differently coordinated adsorption sites. Heating to above room temperature causes a rapid degradation and continuous thinning of BT films whereas above 500 K all thiolate species have desorbed or dissociated, leaving a sulfide overlayer behind that is accompanied by a substrate reconstruction. Interestingly, the upright orientation of BT adopted in the saturated monolayer remains almost identical upon heating and demonstrates the absence of downward tilting upon thermally induced thinning of the film.     

Formation of alkanethiol monolayer on Ge(111).

Alkanethiols, CH3(CH2)(n-1)SH, are shown to react readily with HF-treated Ge(111) surface at room temperature to form a high-quality monolayer. The resulting films are characterized by using contact angle analysis (CAA), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE), and high-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy (HREELS). The octanethiol and octadecanethiol films on Ge(111) both exhibit 101 degrees and 40 degrees water and hexadecane contact angles, respectively. These values indicate that the thiol surface coverage is relatively high, and that the films possess a high degree of orientational ordering. The angle-resolved XPS analysis supports that thiols are bound to the Ge surface by Ge-S bonds at the monolayer/Ge interface. The film thickness values obtained by XPS and SE agree well with the earlier reported values on alkyl monolayers on Ge(111) prepared by Grignard reaction. On the basis of HREEL spectra taken after thermal annealing steps, the monolayers are found to be thermally stable up to 450 K. The thermal stability provides further evidence that thiols are covalently bonded to Ge(111).     

Characterization of siloxane films on titanium substrate derived from three aminosilanes

The aim of this investigation was to study the siloxane, ? Si? O? Si? , film formation on Ti substrate by using mono‐, bis‐ and tris‐aminosilanes. The ultimate goal was to obtain a smooth, well‐organized and stable siloxane film with suitable surface energy. Such films are expected to perform well in adhering resins to dental metal alloys when the films contain reactive functional groups. Aminosilanes were prepared as 0.5 vol.% solutions in dilute ethanol (50 vol.% ethanol in deionized water), with their natural pH of ～ 9. The substrates were silanized in two ways: silane was allowed to react at room temperature or was cured for 1 h at 110°C. The surface characterization was carried out by reflectance–absorbance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (RA‐FTIR), x‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), contact angle measurement and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Siloxane film thickness measurements were not made. According to spectral analysis, all silanes indicated covalent bond formation with titanium. ?Si? O? Ti? and ?Si? O? Si? bonds were clearly seen in the spectra, suggesting that chemical retention had taken place. After curing at elevated temperature, the spectral bands seemed to be stronger than those on samples cured at room temperature. Curing of hydrolyzed silanes at elevated temperature seemed to enhance the siloxane layer formation, derived from aminosilanes, on the Ti substrate. This might have an influence on the hydrolytic stability of organosilane‐promoted adhesion between Ti and dental resins. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Segregation and Stability in Surface Alloys: PdxRu1−x/Ru(0001) and PtxRu1−x/Ru(0001)

The stability of PdRu/Ru(0001) and PtRu/Ru(0001) surface alloys and the tendency for surface segregation of Pd and Pt subsurface guest metals in these surface alloys is studied by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). Atomic resolution STM imaging and AES measurements reveal that upon overgrowing the surface alloys with a 1–2 monolayer Ru film and subsequent annealing to the temperatures required for initial surface alloy formation, the Ru‐covered Pd (Pt) atoms float back to the outermost layer. The lateral distribution of these species is also essentially identical to that of the initial surface alloys, before overgrowth by Ru. In combination, this clearly demonstrates that the surface alloys represent stable surface configurations, metastable only towards entropically favored bulk dissolution, and that there is a distinct driving force for surface segregation of these species. Consequences of these data on the mechanism for surface alloy formation are discussed.     

XPS and AES analysis of passive films on Fe-25Cr-X (X = Mo, V, Si and Nb) model alloys

Corrosion resistance of stainless steel is due to the presence of a thin passive film of typically 1–2 nm thickness. The influence of ternary alloying elements on the composition of passive films on Fe-Cr alloys and their pitting corrosion resistance has been investigated. Iron-chromium alloys were analyzed by XPS and AES with model alloys (Fe-25Cr-X with X = at % Mo, Si, V and Nb) formed in sulphate solution in the presence and absence of chloride ions. All ternary alloying elements increase the pitting potential compared to the corresponding binary alloy. Films formed in chloride containing sulphate solution contain both electrolyte anions. Scanning Auger microscopy reveals that for a two phase system such as Fe-25Cr-11Nb, the dendritic phase is enriched with chromium, while essentially all of the niobium is located in the interdendritic eutectic.     

XPS and AES analysis of passive films on Fe-25Cr-X (X = Mo,V, Si and Nb) model alloys

Corrosion resistance of stainless steel is due to the presence of a thin passive film of typically 1-2 nm thickness. The influence of ternary alloying elements on the composition of passive films on Fe-Cr alloys and their pitting corrosion resistance has been investigated. Iron-chromium alloys were analyzed by XPS and AES with model alloys (Fe-25Cr-X with X = at % Mo, Si, V and Nb) formed in sulphate solution in the presence and absence of chloride ions. All ternary alloying elements increase the pitting potential compared to the corresponding binary alloy. Films formed in chloride containing sulphate solution contain both electrolyte anions. Scanning Auger microscopy reveals that for a two phase system such as Fe-25Cr-11Nb, the dendritic phase is enriched with chromium, while essentially all of the niobium is located in the interdendritic eutectic.     

含氟丙烯酸酯聚合物乳胶膜表面性质

采用XPS和界面张力仪分别测定了含氟丙烯酸酯聚合物乳胶膜表面的组成及水在其表面的动态接触角, 并用状态逼近方程模型计算了含氟聚合物乳胶膜的表面张力, 考察了温度对乳胶膜润湿性的影响. 结果表明, 含氟聚合物乳胶膜表层较深处的F 1s信号强度比近表面要弱, 乳胶膜表面张力随表面氟原子浓度增加在一定程度上呈现线性下降；含氟侧链(Rf)较长(碳原子数n＞6)的含氟聚合物, 其表面张力随Rf单元含量增加而下降的趋势显著高于Rf较短(n≤6)的含氟聚合物, 而水在含氟聚合物乳胶膜表面上的后退接触角θr随n增大出现急剧上升, n≥10 时, θr值几乎恒定不再随n增大而改变. 此外, 参与共聚的非氟丙烯酸酯酯基碳链较短时, 水在共聚物乳胶膜表面的θr随氟单元含量增加而增加的趋势更显著；温度超过40 ℃后, 水对聚合物乳胶膜的润湿性随温度上升略有改善.     

Surface Properties of Fluorinated Acrylate Polymer Latex Films

The surface chemical compositions of fluorinated latex films and the dynamic contact angles of water were determined using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and a Kruss interface tension measurement, respectively. The surface tensions of the films were calculated by the equation of state approach using the dynamic contact angles, and the effect of temperature on the wetting behavior of these films was investigated. It was shown that the F 1s signal intensity from the outermost surface of these fluorinated latex films was stronger than that from the interior surface of the film and that the surface tension showed a linear decrease with the increase of density of fluorine atoms on the latex film surface to a certain extent. The surface tension rapidly decreased with the increase of fluorinated lateral chains (Rf) content in the copolymer with longer Rf (carbon atom number n>6). The water receding contact angles (θr) on the latex films sharply decreased with the increase of n value, then leveled off nearly at n=10, and remained almost unchanged when n>10. In addition, θr increased more remarkably with the increase of F content in the poly (protonated acrylate- co-fluorinated acrylate) with short hydrocarbon side chains. The water wetting ability of the fluorinate latex films became slightly better only when temperature was more than 40°C.     

Synthesis of sub-20-nm-sized bismuth 1-D structures using gallium-bismuth systems

Bismuth (Bi) nanowires are interesting one-dimensional systems due to the significant quantum confinement effects exhibited as a function of the wire diameters, and synthesizing Bi nanowires with sizes below 20 nm is of fundamental importance in understanding quantum effects. Here, we report a bulk synthesis method to synthesize ultrafine Bi nanowires and a new morphology of bismuth nanostructures, tapered whiskers. These tapered whiskers are about 10-20 mum in length and have diameters of 5-10 nm at the tip and 250-500 nm at the base. The synthesis method is based upon the multiple nucleation and basal growth of nanometer scale nuclei from molten gallium (Ga) melts that result from the low solubility of Bi in Ga and the low eutectic temperature of the Ga-Bi binary system. Adopting different methods of supplying bismuth and using variations in simple heating and cooling, we have synthesized a variety of bismuth nanostructures.     

Effect of hydrophobicity on the stability of the wetting films of water formed on gold surfaces

We have developed a methodology that can be used to determine disjoining pressures (Π) in both stable and unstable wetting films from the spatial and temporal profiles of dynamic wetting films. The results show that wetting films drain initially by the capillary pressure created by the changes in curvature at the air/water interface and subsequently by the disjoining pressure created by surface forces. The drainage rate of the film formed on a gold surface with a receding contact angle (θ(r)) of 17° decreases with film thickness due to a corresponding increase in positive Π, resulting in the formation of a stable film. The wetting film formed on a hydrophobic gold with θ(r)=81° drains much faster due to the presence of negative Π in the film, resulting in film rupture. Analysis of the experimental data using the Frumkin-Derjaguin isotherm suggests that short-range hydrophobic forces are responsible for film rupture and long-range hydrophobic forces accelerate film thinning.     

Surface structure and photoluminescence properties of AZO thin films on polymer substrates

Al‐doped zinc oxide (AZO) thin films were deposited on indium tin oxide (ITO) coated polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering method at room temperature. The effects of film thickness on the surface structure and the photoluminescence properties of the films were investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM), secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) and room temperature photoluminescence (PL). AFM analysis showed that the surface of all films was extremely flat and uniform at nanoscale. Root mean square (RMS) value of the surface roughness which scanned the surface area of 3 µm by 3 µm and grain size increased with increasing the film thickness. Thus, the surface morphology of the films became rough because of the coarse grains. The depth profile of AZO layers was analyzed by SIMS. It was found that the thickness of the AZO layer is almost same with the desired film thickness. The PL intensity of the dominant peak decreased and shifted slightly towards the shorter wavelengths with increasing the film thickness. According to the relationships between luminescence intensity and crystalline characteristics, it was observed that the intensity of the peak decreased by the increased surface area of the grains. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Interface induced crystal structures of dioctyl-terthiophene thin films

Temperature dependent structural and morphological investigations on semiconducting dioctyl-terthiophene (DOTT) thin films prepared on silica surfaces reveals the coexistence of surface induce order and distinct crystalline/liquid crystalline bulk polymorphs. X-ray diffraction and scanning force microscopy measurements indicate that at room temperature two polymorphs are present: the surface induced phase grows directly on the silica interface and the bulk phase on top. At elevated temperatures the long-range order gradually decreases, and the crystal G (340 K), smectic F (348 K), and smectic C (360 K) phases are observed. Indexation of diffraction peaks reveals that an up-right standing conformation of DOTT molecules is present within all phases. A temperature stable interfacial layer close to the silica-DOTT interface acts as template for the formation of the different phases. Rapid cooling of the DOTT sample from the smectic C phase to room temperature results in freezing into a metastable crystalline state with an intermediated unit cell between the room temperature crystalline phase and the smectic C phase. The understanding of such interfacial induced phases in thin semiconducting liquid crystal films allows tuning of crystallographic and therefore physical properties within organic thin films.     

Electrical resistivity feature of Cu–Sn–(Bi) alloy melts

The temperature dependence of electrical resistivity of Cu–Sn alloys, along with Cu–Sn–Bi alloys, has been investigated in a wide temperature range using the DC four-probe technique. Evidently abnormal changes are observed on ρ–T curves of these alloys. The result reveals that the irreversible and reversible changes on these ρ–Tcurves indicate the existence of the metastable microinhomogeneous structure and microheterogeneous structure (including some short range orders) of the Cu–Sn and Cu–Sn–Bi alloy melts, respectively. Furthermore, the addition of Bi increases the metastable microheterogeneity in the first heating process of Cu–Sn melts.     

Adsorption characteristic of self‐assembled corrole dimers on HOPG

Our study first focus on two types of corrole dimers oxidized and reduced forms on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) surface. Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and contact angle measurement (CAM) were used to investigate the self‐assembled monolayers of corrole dimers adsorbed on HOPG surfaces at room temperature in air. XPS and CAM results have confirmed both two molecules adsorbed on an HOPG surface and formed self‐assembled films, and STM experiments found that the corrole dimers adsorbed on HOPG surfaces form similar lobes. The different stable space structure of the oxidized form molecule (OFM) and reduced form molecule (RFM), led to the diversity of the tetramer structural dimensions. The occurrence of molecular aggregations and assembly was controlled by the interactions between molecular–molecular and molecule–substrate. The electrostatic interactions between the molecules control the geometrical sizes and molecule–substrate interactions determine topographical shapes of the self‐assembled corrole dimers on HOPG surface. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Initial formation of contact layers on Ni/SiC samples studied by XPS

This study deals with the quantitative assessment of the coverage and thickness of Ni silicide films formed during annealing of SiC substrates with sputtered thin films of Ni. The analytical approach involves the use of XPS and depth profiling by means of successive ion etchings and XPS analyses. For either 3 or 6 nm initial Ni film thickness, a 10 nm Ni₂Si product is formed. On top of this product, the C released is accumulated in a very thin (1–2 nm) film. In neither case, the Ni₂Si covers the whole surface, although the coverage is almost complete (～90%) in the latter case. For the greater initial Ni‐film thickness of 17 nm, the thickness of the Ni₂Si product corresponds well to the value of 25 nm expected from the Ni/Ni₂Si stoichiometric relationship. This thickness is significantly greater than a critical level and the film covers the whole surface. Carbon is similarly accumulated in a very thin layer on the top surface, although the major part of C (～70%) is found inside the main reaction product layer. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Achieving structural control with thin polystyrene-b-polydimethylsiloxane block copolymer films: The complex relationship of interface chemistry,annealing methodology and process conditions

The structure of thin microphase-separated polystyrene-block-polydimethylsiloxane (PS–PDMS) films has been studied using state-of-the-art top-down and cross-sectional electron microscopy. This is the first time that the profile of PS–PDMS films has been measured in situ and these measurements allowed us to image the shape of the PDMS domains within the film as well as examine the wetting behavior of the block copolymer film on a variety of substrates. It was found that for each polymer, substrate chemistry and annealing method combination examined, there was a small range of film thicknesses whereby the films exhibited the optimal characteristics of high levels of ordering without dewetting or multilayering. Specifically, the optimum thickness for films treated by thermal annealing was greater than that for the equivalent solvent annealed film; a change that was correlated with morphology variations related to solvent swelling of the solvent annealed films. The surface chemistry also induced changes in the optimum film thickness. Selective surfaces were shown to control whether a PDMS wetting layer was formed or not, leading to either thicker or thinner wetting optimum film thicknesses; while undulating morphologies were observed for less selective surfaces. Concomitant changes in the periodicity were then hypothesized to occur as a result of confinement effects and the selectivity of the surface.