Study of the end‐group contribution to ToF‐SIMS and G‐SIMS spectra of poly (lactic acid) using deuterium labelling

In this study, polymeric (MW 50 000) and oligomeric (MW 2000) poly (lactic acid) (PLA), both with and without end‐group deuterium exchange, were analysed using static secondary ion mass spectrometry (SSIMS) to investigate the contribution of end‐group‐derived secondary ions to the SSIMS spectra. By monitoring the SSIMS intensities between the non‐deuterated and deuterated PLA, it is evident that the only significant end‐group‐derived secondary ions are [nM + H]⁺ (n > 1) and C₄H₉O₂⁺. The gentle‐SIMS (G‐SIMS) methodology was employed to establish that deuterated fragments were produced through low energy processes and were not the result of substantial rearrangements. It was noted that end‐group‐derived secondary ions had higher G‐SIMS intensities for oligomeric PLA than polymeric PLA, showing that these secondary ions are simple fragment products that are not the result of rearrangement or degraded product ions. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Study of surface structure of catalytic carbon filaments by secondary ion mass-spectroscopy

The SIMS method has been used for studying the time dependent intensities of the secondary ions H₂O⁺, O⁺, CH ₃ ⁺ and C⁺ under Ar⁺ bombardment of two CCF samples with different packing of filaments. The thickness of defect layers is estimated from the median of secondary ions distribution.     

Organic secondary ion mass spectrometry: Signal enhancement by water vapor injection

The enhancement of the static secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) signals resulting from the injection, closely to the sample surface, of H₂O vapor at relatively high-pressure, was investigated for a set of organic materials. While the ion signals are generally improved with increasing H₂O pressure upon 12 keV Ga⁺ bombardment, a specific enhancement of the protonated ion intensity is clearly demonstrated in each case. For instance, the presence of H₂O vapor induces an enhancement by one order of magnitude of the [M+ H]⁺ static SIMS intensity for the antioxidant Irgafos 168 and a ∼1.5-fold increase for polymers such as poly(vinyl pyrrolidone).     

Surface Study of Polymers by Static Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry Using a Magnetic-Sector Mass Spectrometer

Results from static SIMS analysis of six thermoplastic polymers — polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), polyethylene (PE), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polystyrene (PS) and polycarbonate (PC) — using a magnetic-sector SIMS instrument and O₂⁺ primary beam are presented. For PTFE as a representative sample, the charging effect is reduced only with a metal grid when analyzing positive secondary ions. When negative secondary ions are analyzed, excessive charges are self-compensated with a normal-incidence electron gun. Positive-ion spectra collected agree with spectra obtained using either a quadrupole or time-of-flight SIMS instrument and noble-gas ion beams. The agreement is objectively demonstrated by means of the capability to compare spectra in the NIST/EPA/MSDC mass spectral database. The merits of the use of high-mass resolution, of which magnetic-sector SIMS is inherently capable, to provide analytical information about the molecular species native to the sample are demonstrated in distinguishing three ambiguous peaks with nominal mass ratios m/z = 27, 39 and 59 from PMMA.     

Plasma Surface Modification of Fluoropolymers Studied by ToF-SIMS

Surface modification by plasma treatment is an efficient way of improving metal adhesion to polymers. Here, Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) is used to characterize the surfaces of Teflon PFA and Teflon AF1600 films, following plasma treatments in H₂, O₂ and N₂ gases. This work is complementary to our previous study using XPS, and is particularly directed toward the identification of incorporated hydrocarbons which could seriously affect metal adhesion. Plasma treatments strongly modify the surfaces of fluoropolymers, causing the ablation of a part of the fluorocarbon structure, with H₂ being the most effective gas. The hydrocarbon content of such surfaces is not negligible, and a comparison with hydrocarbon levels on untreated surfaces suggests that a substantial fraction of this material was incorporated on plasma treatment; this is particularly so in the case of H₂ plasma treatment. Due to expected strong matrix effects caused by significant changes in surface chemistry and structure following the various plasma treatments, the use of SIMS absolute intensity values is discussed in terms of data treatment artifacts. Moreover, due to the differences in secondary ion yields between characteristic hydrocarbon and fluorocarbon SIMS peaks, the use of peaks normalized to the total intensity is also impractical. Here, positive mode absolute intensities and negative mode peak intensity values, when normalized to I_tot - I(H^–) - I(F^–), give valuable information, as in the comparison of hydrocarbon and N incorporations.     

Emission of secondary ions from osmium under oxygen and the nitrogen oxides N2O, NO and NO2

Summary Small briquettes compressed of high-purity Os powder were bombarded by primary Ar⁺ ions for moderate dynamic SIMS conditions. Secondary ion mass spectra were observed for positive ions which were produced under residual gas and under O₂, N₂O, NO, NO₂. For the different reactant gases these spectra were found rather similar, indicating that the nitrogen oxides mainly act as sources of reactive oxygen. But also some individual secondary ions containing nitrogen or NO are emitted from the target surface which, at least in the case of N₂O and NO₂, give some evidence of partial adsorptive fragmentation of the respective reactant gas molecules.     

Simultaneous SIMS/AES Measurements for the Characterization of Multilayer Systems

The interface region of silicon dioxide layers deposited on indium phosphide was investigated by simultaneous secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) depth profile measurements. The results of such measurements depend strongly on the ion species used for sputtering. With Ar⁺ primary ions an enhancement of the P- and In-SIMS signals occurs in the mixing zone at the interface. This effect can be explained by an increase of the ionization yield of In and P in the presence of oxygen from the SiO₂. The use of O₂ ⁺ as sputter ions enlarges the phosphorus peak at the interface while the enhancement of the In-signal diminishes. The simultaneously measured AES spectra give clear evidence of oxygen bonded In and P at the interface. Additionally, preferential sputtering of phosphorus occurs. The understanding of these effects which complicate the interpretation of SIMS and AES depth profile measurements of the system SiO₂/InP allows us to investigate the silicon dioxide layers and the interface region in order to optimize the SiO₂ deposition process, e.g. for surface passivation or MIS structures.     

Multi‐instrument characterization of the surfaces and materials in microfabricated,carbon nanotube‐templated thin layer chromatography plates. An analogy to ‘The Blind Men and the Elephant’

We apply a suite of analytical tools to characterize materials created in the production of microfabricated thin layer chromatography plates. Techniques used include X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), valence band spectroscopy, time‐of‐flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF‐SIMS) in both positive and negative ion modes, Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS), and helium ion microscopy. Materials characterized include: the Si(100) substrate with native oxide: Si/SiO₂, alumina (35 nm) deposited as a diffusion barrier on the Si/SiO₂: Si/SiO₂/Al₂O₃, iron (6 nm) thermally evaporated on the Al₂O₃: Si/SiO₂/Al₂O₃/Fe, the iron film annealed in H₂ to make Fe catalyst nanoparticles: Si/SiO₂/Al₂O₃/Fe(NP), and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) grown from the Fe nanoparticles: Si/SiO₂/Al₂O₃/Fe(NP)/CNT. The Fe films and nanoparticles appear in an oxidized state. Some of the analyses of the CNTs/CNT forests appear to be unique: (i) the CNT forest appears to exhibit an interesting ‘channeling’ phenomenon by RBS, (ii) we observe an odd–even effect in the SIMS spectra of C_n^‐ species for n = 1 – 6, with the n ≥ 6 ions showing a steady decrease in intensity, and (iii) valence band characterization of CNTs using X‐radiation is reported. Initial analysis of the CNT forest by XPS shows that it is 100 at.% carbon. After one year, only ca. 0.25 at.% oxygen is observed. The information obtained from the combination of the different analytical tools provides a more complete understanding of our materials than a single technique, which is analogous to the story of ‘The Blind Men and the Elephant’. The raw XPS and ToF‐SIMS spectra from this study will be submitted to Surface Science Spectra for archiving. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Analysis of thin films and molecular orientation using cluster SIMS

A study of phenylalanine films of different thicknesses from submonolayer to 55 nm on Si wafers has been made using Bi_n⁺ and C₆₀⁺ cluster primary ions in static SIMS. This shows that the effect of film thickness on ion yield is very similar for all primary ions, with an enhanced molecular yield at approximately 1 monolayer attributed to substrate backscattering. The static SIMS ion yields of phenylalanine at different thicknesses are, in principle, the equivalent of a static SIMS depth profile, without the complication of ion beam damage and roughness resulting from sputtering to the relevant thickness. Analyzing thin films of phenylalanine of different thicknesses allows an interpretation of molecular bonding to, and orientation on, the silicon substrate that is confirmed by XPS. The large crater size for cluster ions has interesting effects on the secondary ion intensities of both the overlayer and the substrate for monolayer and submonolayer quantities. This study expands the capability of SIMS for identification of the chemical structure of molecules at surfaces. © Crown copyright 2010.     

On tertiary BOx± ions in HF-plasma SNMS

The effect of plasma electron impact on negative secondary ions is investigated by example of a sputtered H₃BO₃/Cu powder pellet. O^–, BO^–, BO⁺, and B⁺ tertiary ions, fractured from strongly forward focussed secondary BO₂ ^– ions, are identified by their kinetic energies. Since most of them are accepted by the ion optics, this process may affect quantification in HF-plasma SNMS.     

Secondary ion mass spectrometry and alpha-spectrometry of electrodeposited thorium films

The main aim of this work was the preparation of samples with thorium content on the steel discs by electrodeposition for determination of natural thorium isotope by alpha spectrometry and secondary ion mass spectrometry and finding out their possible linear correlation between these methods. The analysis of the composition of surface was other aim of study. Discs were measured by alpha spectrometer. After that, alpha spectrometry discs were analyzed by TOF-SIMS IV, which is installed in the International Laser Centre in Bratislava. The integral and normalized intensities of isotope of ²³²Th and intensities of ions of ThO⁺, ThOH⁺, ThO₂H⁺, Th₂O₄H⁺, ThO₂ ^?, ThO₃H^?, ThH₃O₃ ^? a ThN₂O₅H^? were measured. The linear correlation is between surface’s weights of Th and intensities of ions of Th⁺ from identified in SIMS spectra. We found out the chemical binding between thorium and oxygen and hydrogen on the surface of samples by SIMS method. Obtained intensities of ions ²³²ThO⁺, ²³²ThOH⁺, ²³²ThO₂H⁺ prove the presence of oxidized forms of thorium in the upper layers of surface. The oxidized ions predominate in univalent form of thorium up to deep about 3,000 nm.     

Static SIMS analysis of carbonate on basic alkali‐bearing surfaces

Carbonate is a somewhat enigmatic anion in static secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) because abundant ions containing intact CO₃^2? are not detected when analyzing alkaline‐earth carbonate minerals common to the geochemical environment. In contrast, carbonate can be observed as an adduct ion when it is bound with alkali cations. In this study, carbonate was detected as the adduct Na₂CO₃·Na⁺ in the spectra of sodium carbonate, bicarbonate, hydroxide, oxalate, formate and nitrite and to a lesser extent nitrate. The appearance of the adduct Na₂CO₃·Na⁺ on hydroxide, oxalate, formate and nitrite surfaces was interpreted in terms of these basic surfaces fixing CO₂ from the ambient atmosphere. The low abundance of Na₂CO₃·Na⁺ in the static SIMS spectrum of sodium nitrate, compared with a significantly higher abundance in salts having stronger conjugate bases, suggested that the basicity of the conjugate anions correlated with aggressive CO₂ fixation; however, the appearance of Na₂CO₃·Na⁺ could not be explained simply in terms of solution basicity constants. The oxide molecular ion Na₂O⁺ and adducts NaOH·Na⁺ and Na₂O·Na⁺ also constituted part of the carbonate spectral signature, and were observed in spectra from all the salts studied. In addition to the carbonate and oxide ions, a low‐abundance oxalate ion series was observed that had the general formula Na_2?xH_xC₂O₄·Na⁺, where 0 < x < 2. Oxalate adsorption from the laboratory atmosphere was demonstrated but the oxalate ion series also was likely to be formed from reductive coupling occurring during the static SIMS bombardment event. The remarkable spectral similarity observed when comparing the sodium salts indicated that their surfaces shared common chemical speciation and that the chemistry of the surfaces was very different from the bulk of the particle. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Chemical and electrochemical studies of the oxide ion-oxygen reaction in equimolar sodium nitrate+potassium nitrate

Manometric and potentiometric studies of the oxide ion+oxygen reaction in molten alkali nitrate are reported. Sufficient oxygen was found to be absorbed by alkali nitrate melts after addition of Na₂O to convert virtually all of the added O^2? ion to O₂^2? and O₂^? ions. The equilibrium constant and the temperature dependence of the reaction 2 O₂^?=O₂+O₂^2? was determined over a temperature range of 250–400°C. The value of the equilibrium constant determined by the method used was found to depend on whether Na₂O, Na₂O₂, or NaO₂ was used as the starting material. Stabilized zirconia tubes were studied for use as oxide ion probes in these melts. In oxygen-containing melts the zirconia/melt interface was shown to respond to added Na₂O or NaO₂ in a manner similar to the response of a platinum wire dipped into the melt. This response is shown to be the expected one, for the cells studied. When nickel chloride was added to oxygen-saturated melts which contined Na₂O, a reaction was found to occur which resulted in the effective loss of two oxide ions from the melt for each nickel ion which was added.     

Cluster mechanism of the atmosphere ozone destruction by bromine ions

Interaction of bromine ions absorbed by water cluster with adsorbed oxygen and ozone molecules has been investigated by the molecular dynamics method. It was shown that the part of O₂ molecules was removed from the system by evaporating Br⁻ ions, while all O₃ molecules and Br ions were kept in the system during 25 ps. The increase the concentration of the Br⁻ ions in the clusters resulted in a reduction of the absorption intensity and emission in IR spectra at the presence of oxygen, whereas the absorption intensity in the appropriate IR spectra of ozone-containing systems increased with the growth of a number of the Br⁻ ions. Raman spectra of oxygen-containing systems were poorly sensitive to the concentration of the Br⁻ ions but the absorption intensity of Raman spectra for systems with ozone considerably decreased with the growth of a number of bromine ions.     

Ultrashallow depth profiling using SIMS and ion scattering spectroscopy

The accuracy of ultrashallow depth profiling was studied by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) and high‐resolution Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (HRBS) to obtain reliable depth profiles of ultrathin gate dielectrics and ultrashallow dopant profiles, and to provide important information for the modeling and process control of advanced complimentary metal‐oxide semiconductor (CMOS) design. An ultrathin Si₃N₄/SiO₂ stacked layer (2.5 nm) and ultrashallow arsenic implantation distributions (3 keV, 1 × 10¹⁵ cm^?2) were used to explore the accuracy of near‐surface depth profiles measured by low‐energy O₂⁺ and Cs⁺ bombardment (0.25 and 0.5 keV) at oblique incidence. The SIMS depth profiles were compared with those by HRBS. Comparison between HRBS and SIMS nitrogen profiles in the stacked layer suggested that SIMS depth profiling with O₂⁺ at low energy (0.25 keV) and an impact angle of 78° provides accurate profiles. For the As⁺‐implanted Si, the HRBS depth profiles clearly showed redistribution in the near‐surface region. In contrast, those by the conventional SIMS measurement using Cs⁺ primary ions at oblique incidence were distorted at depths less than 5 nm. The distortion resulted from a long transient caused by the native oxide. To reduce the transient behavior and to obtain more accurate depth profiles in the near‐surface region, the use of O₂⁺ primary ions was found to be effective, and 0.25 keV O₂⁺ at normal incidence provided a more reliable result than Cs⁺ in the near‐surface region. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Computer simulation of oxygen and nitrate ion absorption by water clusters

Using the molecular dynamics method, the joint absorption of oxygen and nitrate ions by water clusters is studied in terms of the polarizable model of flexible molecules. Significant fluctuations are observed in the number of hydrogen bonds in the clusters during the addition of NO₃⁻ ions to water-oxygen aggregates. Dielectric permittivity noticeably changes upon the addition of O₂ molecules to water clusters and nitrate ions to oxygen-containing water clusters. After the absorption of oxygen molecules and nitrate ions, water clusters markedly lose the ability to IR absorption. The Raman spectrum of a medium formed from disperse aqueous system, oxygen, and nitrate ions displays a greater number of bands than the spectrum of a system of pure water clusters.     

Sulfur-doped LaNiO3 perovskite oxides with enriched anionic vacancies and manipulated orbital occupancy facilitating oxygen electrode reactions in lithium-oxygen batteries

The rational design of effective bifunctional catalysts with enhanced activity toward oxygen reduction reaction and oxygen evolution reaction is of significance to develop high-performance lithium-oxygen (Li–O₂) batteries. Herein, sulfur-doped LaNiO₃ nanoparticles are elaborately synthesized, and their catalytic activity toward oxygen redox reactions in Li–O₂ batteries is comprehensively studied. As confirmed by the density functional theory calculations and experimental results, the substitution of oxygen atoms by sulfur atoms with lower Pauling electronegativity can enhance the covalent feature of bonds, thus increasing electrical conductivity of catalyst. In addition, abundant oxygen vacancies created after sulfur doping are capable of providing concentrated active sites. Simultaneously, sulfur dopants boost the hybridization between Ni 3d orbital and O 2p orbital and increase the covalency of Ni–O bonds due to the increase of Ni³⁺ with the near-unity occupancy of the e_g orbital, thereby increasing the adsorption strength of oxygen-containing intermediates on the surface. Eventually, lowered reaction energy barriers and accelerated reaction kinetics of oxygen electrode reactions are realized, contributing to the optimized electrochemical performance of Li–O₂ battery. The Li–O₂ battery based on sulfur-doped LaNiO₃ with the optimized S-doping level of 2.89 wt% (marked as S_2.89 wt%-LNO) delivers a high specific discharge capacity of 24067 mAh/g, an ultralow overpotential of 0.37 V and extended life of 347 cycles.     

Tailoring the surface chemistry of carbon fiber and E‐glass composites for improved adhesion

The main challenges in the manufacture of composite materials are low surface energy and the presence of silicon‐containing contaminants, both of which greatly reduce surface adhesive strength. In this study, carbon fiber (CF) and E‐glass epoxy resin composites were surface treated with the Accelerated Thermo‐molecular adhesion Process (ATmaP). ATmaP is a multiaction surface treatment process where tailored nitrogen and oxygen functionalities are generated on the surface of the sample through the vaporization and atomization of n‐methylpyrrolidone solution, injected via specially designed flame‐treatment equipment. The treated surfaces of the polymer composites were analyzed using XPS, time of flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF‐SIMS), contact angle (CA) analysis and direct adhesion measurements. ATmaP treatment increased the surface concentration of polar functional groups while reducing surface contamination, resulting in increased adhesion strength. XPS and ToF‐SIMS showed a significant decrease in silicon‐containing species on the surface after ATmaP treatment. E‐glass composite showed higher adhesion strength than CF composite, correlating with higher surface energy, higher concentrations of nitrogen and C?O functional groups (from XPS) and higher concentrations of oxygen and nitrogen‐containing functional groups (particularly C₂H₃O⁺ and C₂H₅NO⁺ molecular ions, from ToF‐SIMS). Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

NO reduction with C3H8 on Co/Al2O3 catalyst. effect of O2 concentration

The selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO by propane in excess oxygen-containing gas mixture was studied on Co/Al₂O₃ catalyst. The oxygen concentration is very important for the reaction. The NO conversion to N₂ without oxygen is 3% at 800 K and when the O₂ concentration is raised up to 8% the NO conversion reaches its maximum value of 60% at 800 K. Characterization results by TPR and UV-Vis spectroscopy show that in the catalyst, species strongly interacting with tetrahedral and octahedral Co²⁺ ions in the support are present. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Reactions of O(3P) with secondary C-H bonds of saturated hydrocarbons in nonequilibrium plasmas

The functionalization of three n-alkanes by means of a low-pressure oxygen plasma has been achieved. The plasma was generated by applying a low-Frequency high-voltage glow discharge through an oxygen flow. bit, activated species so produced have been allowed to interact with the surface of each one of the liquid compounds at a time. The hydrocarbon has been cooled down to a temperature low enough so that its vapor pressure is about 20–100 times lower than the O₂ pressure, this heing of the order of 0.1–0.4 torr. Under these conditions the main products of the reactions have been the alcohols, except for the primary ones, and the corresponding ketones. A remarkable result we have arrived at is that for the first time secondary carbon hydrogen bonds have shown to possess different reactivities withO(³P). The latter has proved to he the most relevant active species of the plasma. A discussion is given to explain this novel result under two theoretical bases recently published: (i) a conformational analysis of the hydrocarbons according to molecular mechanics calculations, and (ii) an analysis of properties of the molecules based on calculations with charge distributions derived from 6–31G^* wave functions.