Study of CVD diamond C(100) by X-ray absorption spectroscopies

Surface sensitive x-ray absorption fine structure measurements were carried out near the carbon K-edge on chemical vapor deposited (CVD) diamond and natural diamond. Utilizing different methods, namely near edge and extended x-ray absorption fine structure measurements (NEXAFS and EXAFS), features were found in the spectra which were attributed to non-diamond coordination fractions, such as bulk C-H bonds, graphite-like and more diamond-like coordinated amorphous carbon domains. Both techniques show that the non-diamond fractions consist mainly of diamond-like amorphous carbon.     

Structure and electric conductivity of vapor deposition polymerization products of cyanoacetylene

Cyanoacetylene can be polymerized from the vapor state onto an inactive surface of substrate at a temperature as low as 200°C. The polymerization first occurs by way of the carbon–carbon triple bond. The reaction product obtained at 1000°C contains nitrogen at a concentration as high as 13.7%. At least some of this nitrogen is in naphtiridine ring or rings similar to it. The product obtained at 400°C is amorphous, while the product obtained at 1000°C has at least partly graphite-like crystalline structures with an apparent crystallite size (L_c) of about 17 Å. The electric conductivities of the products obtained at 400, 700, and 1000°C are 7.7 × 10^?2, 91, and 1600 S/cm, respectively. These values are extremely high compared to the pyrolized PAN treated at the same temperature. Electric conductivity of the product obtained at 400°C is well explained by the variable range hopping model in 3-dimensional amorphous materials. With the products obtained at the higher temperatures, conductivity cannot be accounted for by the hopping model. This is probably due to the development of graphite-like structure.     

Resistivity and Field Electron Emission of Nanowires Formed by Electron Beam Induced Chemical Vapor Deposition

"Self-standing iron nanowires were fabricated at the apex of a tungsten needle tip by electron beam induced deposition. This sharp needle tip which adhered to the nanowire can be moved with a stepping motor and piezo-driving device, and was attached inside a specially designed transmission electron microscope pecimen holder. A copper conductor substrate, with which the approaching nanowires will build up a closed electric circuit, was set on the holder. The tungsten needle tip accompanied with the EBICVD nanowires made contact with the substrate and then a voltage was applied between the two electrodes. Resistivity values of the examined nanowires, by a devised Lock-in-Amplifier circuit, range from 0.1 -m to 10-3 -m. Our investigation might have implications in the fabrication and characterization of nano-electronics device. Precursor with phenanthrene (C4H10) was used and the deposition experiment was done using a scanning electron microscope at room temperature. It was found that the surface structure at the top of the nanorod, such as a small protrusion within only several nanometers scale, has significant influence on the field emission property. An emission current of several tens of nano-ampere flowing through this nanorod could induce resistance heating. In several minutes, this thermal energy could transform the original amorphous carbon into a graphite-like structure embedded with fullerenes. The turn-on voltage of the graphite-like nanorod was about 11 V less than that of the original amorphous case."     

An EELS and EXELFS study of amorphous hydrogenated silicon carbide

A series of thin films of amorphous hydrogenated silicon carbide (a-SiCH) produced by RF plasma decomposition of propane and silane has been studied by electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) and extended energy-loss fine structure (EXELFS) studies. The composition of the films has been determined by EELS and the nearest neighbour spacings have been determined by EXELFS. These results, along with the energy of the plasmon loss peaks, have been compared with the deposition conditions for each film. The results show that for a large gas ratio (C₃H₈/(C₃H₈+SiH₄)) the films have a high proportion of carbon and are similar to a-CH in structure, whereas those films prepared with Y = 0.4 or 0.5 have nearest neighbour spacings consistent with those for tetrahedrally bonded carbon. The films prepared with lowest Y have nearest neighbour spacings similar to those for amorphous silicon carbide. The results for a-SiCH have been compared with the results of EELS and EXELFS of CVD diamond films, amorphous carbon and amorphous silicon.     

Application of EELS to the microanalysis of materials

Electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) is used in analytical electron microscopy (AEM) because it can provide results on the chemical composition and structure of a small volume of material. The practical application of EELS was demonstrated by the investigation of a refractory hard metal of the type WC-TiC-Co and by the investigation of a BaTiO₃ ceramic material. To demonstrate the present status of quantitative analysis by EELS, the spectra of Be₂SiO₄, TiB₂ and BaTiO₃ were quantified and the results indicate that quantitative analysis is feasible for major concentrations of light elements and also of heavier elements even in the presence of severe edge overlap.     

Microstructural and metal-support interactions of the Pt-CeO2/C catalysts for direct methanol fuel cell application

To understand the ceria promotion effect of Pt-CeO(2)/C catalysts on methanol oxidation, microstructural and metal-oxide interactions of Pt-CeO(2)/C catalysts with an atomic ratio of Pt/Ce between 0.14 and 1.4 were systematically examined using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). With an increasing Pt content in the catalysts, Pt particles gradually invaded into the ceria supports and decoration on Pt particles was observed. Simultaneously, the morphology of the supports was dramatically modified with nanocrystalline and amorphous ceria formed between and/or around the Pt particles. It reveals that the Pt-ceria interaction could take place in the catalysts and the influence of the interaction was enhanced with an increasing Pt/Ce ratio. The EELS study demonstrated that the strong Pt-ceria interaction was related to the redox reaction between Pt and ceria. Experimental results also suggested that the strong interaction between Pt and ceria could contribute to the promotion effect of ceria on the oxidation of methanol.     

催化裂解CH4或CO制碳纳米管结构性能的谱学表征

利用TEM、HRTEM、XRD、XPS和TPO等方法对CH₄或CO催化分解生成的碳纳米管结构和性能进行了表征.结果表明,所得产物是管径15～20nm的均匀碳纳米管.其XRD谱图与石墨的相近,但特征衍射峰稍宽化,表明其长程有序度较石墨的低.由CH₄制备的碳纳米管系由多层具有类石墨片状结构的同心、等径及中空圆锥形面叠合而成,类石墨层面取向与管轴倾斜;而由CO制备的碳纳米管系由多层具有类石墨片状结构的圆柱形面围叠而成,类石墨层面取向与管轴平行.碳纳米管中C_1s的电子结合能比石墨的下降约0.5eV.TPO试验结果显示所制备的两种产物中无定形碳含量都很低,其整体结构石墨化程度较高;由CH₄制得的碳纳米管与O₂反应的起燃温度比由CO制得的约高100K.     

Fragmentation of the lamellae and fractionation of polymer coils upon mixing poly(dimethylacrylamide) with the lamellar phase of aerosol OT in water

The lamellar mesophase formed by surfactant 1,4-bis(2-ethylhexyl) sodium sulfosuccinate (AOT) in deuterated water is mixed with poly(dimethylacrylamide) (PDMAA) polymers of low molecular weight (Mn= (2-20) x 10(3)). The mixtures separate into microphases (lamellar plus isotropic polymer solution). Their microstructures are studied by microscopy, small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), and deuterium NMR (2H NMR). According to SAXS, the lamellar phase fractionates the molecular weight distribution of the polymer, by dissolving only chains with coil sizes smaller than the thickness of the water layers between lamellae, and keeping larger chains segregated from the lamellar phase. The fraction of polymer that is segregated from the lamellar phase grows with Mn of the polymer. In 2H NMR, there are two signals, a quadrupolar doublet (water molecules hydrating the anisotropic lamellar phase contribute to this doublet) and a singlet (water molecules in the isotropic polymer solution contribute to this singlet). These two signals are deconvoluted to analyze the phases. Mixing with the polymer produces the partial dispersion of the lamellar phase into small fragments (microcrystallites). The structure of these microcrystallites is such that they conserve the regular long period spacing of the macrophase, and are thus identified in SAXS, but they are smaller than the minimum size required to produce quadrupolar splitting (about 4 microm), and therefore, in 2H NMR, they contribute to the singlet. 2H NMR can thus not distinguish between small microcrystallites and an isotropic polymer solution segregated from the lamellar phase; instead small microcrystallites are detected as an apparent increase of the isotropic solution. The degree of dispersion produced by the polymer in the lamellar phase is correlated with the degree of segregation that the polymer suffers. Thus, much greater dispersion into microcrystallites is produced by the higher Mn polymers than by the lower Mn polymers (in the range covered by the present samples, although with a much higher molecular weight sample (3 x 10(6)) that is totally segregated no such microcrystallites were detected).     

Cellulose microfibrils from banana farming residues: isolation and characterization

Cellulose microfibrils have been prepared from banana rachis using a combination of chemical and mechanical treatments. The morphology and structure of the samples were characterized using transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to characterize the chemical modifications of the samples after each treatment. Suspensions of bundled or individualized 5-nm-wide microfibrils were obtained after homogenization (PH) whereas an organosolv (PO) treatment resulted in shorter aggregates of parallel cellulose microcrystallites. The sharper rings in the X-ray diffraction pattern of the PO-treated sample suggest a higher crystallinity due to a more efficient removal of hemicelluloses and dissolution of amorphous zones by the acid treatment. Both microfibrils and microcrystals prepared by both methods can be used as reinforcing filler in nanocomposite materials.     

Structure of the active component and catalytic properties of catalysts prepared by the reduction of layered nickel aluminosilicates

The reduction of Ni-Mg aluminosilicates with the amesite structure was studied using thermogravimetry, high-resolution electron microscopy, XPS, and XRD. It was found that the reduction with hydrogen at 920 K resulted in the formation of nickel particles coated with a difficult-to-reduce amorphous oxide shell. The reduced samples were incapable of chemisorbing oxygen; however, they exhibited a high adsorption capacity for hydrogen. The Ni⁰ core-oxide shell decorated particles were highly active in steam methane reforming and CO hydrogenation reactions. At the same time, they were inactive in the formation of graphite-like carbon in both methane decomposition and CO disproportionation.     

Oxidative and tribological properties of amorphous and quasicrystalline approximant Al-Cu-Fe thin films

The origins of the tribological properties and corrosion resistance of amorphous and quasicrystalline approximant alloys have been studied by comparing their properties in thin Al-Cu-Fe alloy films with compositions lying near the quasicrystalline region of the ternary compositional phase diagram. Six sputtered thin films of an Al-Cu-Fe alloy were studied using X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS), and an in situ ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) tribometer. The films were annealed in UHV to induce the formation of orthorhombic, rhombohedral, and amorphous bulk structures. The properties of these thin films were then determined in the same UHV apparatus without exposing the films to air. The rates of surface oxidation by H2O and O2 were measured using XPS. Although the oxidation rates and oxide thicknesses were dependent on the oxidant, they were not sensitive to the structures of the films. Friction was measured between identical samples in sliding contact. The friction coefficients (micros = 0.36 +/- 0.11 to 0.56 +/- 0.08) were comparable to those observed in other experiments using quasicrystals and approximants in UHV; however, there was no strong correlation between the friction coefficients and either the film structure or the degree of surface oxidation. These results suggest that the tribological and corrosion resistance properties of these quasicrystalline approximant alloys are not directly connected to crystalline structure.     

Investigation of surface topography, morphology and structure of amorphous carbon films by AFM and TEM

Morphology and structure of amorphous carbon films deposited with a pulsed arc source (LASER-ARC) have been studied using microscopical methods (SEM, TEM and AFM), electron diffraction and spectroscopical investigation (EELS). The parameters of the arc source and the deposition conditions (substrate temperature) influence morphology and structure of deposited amorphous carbon films. Especially the incorporation and growth of particles, embedded in the film have been investigated. By particle analysis using an optical microscope a majority of particles that is smaller than 500 nm has been determined. The morphology has been also demonstrated similar by AFM and TEM images. Their number and size of particles is strongly influenced by the deposition temperature. The structure of amorphous film is characterized by the EELS-spectra, but the particle structure was not detectable.     

The effects accompanying passing current through a granular bed of activated carbon

Repeatedly passing current of high intensity (2 A) in the pulsing mode through a granular bed of activated carbon was accompanied by changes of bed resistance. These changes did not diminish when the current stopped but proceeded during 2 to 10 days of exposure.X-ray lattice parameters of the carbon before and after it was subjected to numerous current pulses have been measured. The second sample differed considerably because it was more amorphous. Nitrogen and water adsorption isotherms on these samples have been measured. They showed a reduction of specific surface area (volume of micropores) and probably an increase of the average diameter of mesopores.The observed significant changes of carbon texture and structure are explained by inductive electromechanical interactions between planar layers of carbon atoms in microcrystallites of activated carbon during pulses of passing current.     

Selective detection of protein crystals by second harmonic microscopy

The unique symmetry properties of second harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy enabled sensitive and selective imaging of protein microcrystals with negligible contributions from solvated proteins or amorphous protein aggregates. In studies of microcrystallites of green fluorescent protein (GFP) prepared in 500 pL droplets, the SHG intensities rivaled those of fluorescence, but with superb selectivity for crystalline regions. GFP in amorphous aggregates and in solution produced substantial background fluorescence, but no detectable SHG. The ratio of the forward-to-backward detected SHG provides a measure of the particle size, suggesting detection limits down to crystallites 100 nm in diameter under low magnification (10x). In addition to being sensitive and highly selective, second-order nonlinear optical imaging of chiral crystals (SONICC) is directly compatibility with virtually all common protein crystallization platforms.     

Electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) of iron Fischer-Tropsch catalysts.

Electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and transmission electron microscopy have been used to study iron catalysts for Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. When silica-containing iron oxide precursors are activated in flowing CO, the iron phase segregates into iron carbide crystallites, leaving behind some unreduced iron oxide in an amorphous state coexisting with the silica binder. The iron carbide crystallites are found covered by characteristic amorphous carbonaceous surface layers. These amorphous species are difficult to analyze by traditional catalyst characterization techniques, which lack spatial resolution. Even a surface-sensitive technique such as XPS shows only broad carbon or iron peaks in these catalysts. As we show in this work, EELS allows us to distinguish three different carbonaceous species: reactive amorphous carbon, graphitic carbon, and carbidic carbon in the bulk of the iron carbide particles. The carbidic carbon K edge shows an intense "pi*" peak with an edge shift of about 1 eV to higher energy loss compared to that of the pi* of amorphous carbon film or graphitic carbon. EELS analysis of the oxygen K edge allows us to distinguish the amorphous unreduced iron phase from the silica binder, indicating these are two separate phases. These results shed light onto the complex phase transformations that accompany the activation of iron catalysts for Fischer-Tropsch synthesis.     

Characterisation of aged charcoal using a coil probe pyrolysis-GC/MS method optimised for black carbon

Molecular identification of aged black carbon (BC) is problematic owing to potential interference of non-charred aromatic organic matter and to a general lack of techniques that are capable of providing detailed chemistry of it. Pyrolysis-GC/MS is thought to be unsuitable for analysis of BC because the pyrolysis step itself causes molecular rearrangements that may interfere with the thermal modifications by natural burning, and because a significant fraction of BC is not pyrolysable.We optimised a coil probe pyrolysis method for BC by analysing both a lignin-rich peat sample and an aged legume-derived charcoal at various temperatures (400–1200 °C). Pyrolysis at 750 °C for 10 s combined acceptable thermal modifications to the pyrolysed peat with high-quality chromatograms from charcoal.Using this method we analysed 91 samples of up to >11,000 yrs old oak, birch and legume charcoal from a colluvial soil in NW Spain. The charcoal produced a large suite of aromatic compounds that can be considered characteristic of BC in this study: benzene, toluene, PAHs (naphthalene, biphenyl, fluorene and phenanthrene) and N- and O-containing (poly)aromatics (e.g. dibenzofuran and benzonitrile). A series of N-containing compounds that had not been previously reported in charcoal pyrolysates were found (C₁-benzoxazole, benzene dicarbonitriles, 2-phenylpyridine, naphthalenecarbonitrile, 2-biphenylcarbonitrile). Small amounts of short-chain n-alkane/n-alkene pairs indicated some aliphatic material had survived the fire. Uncharred or weakly charred carbohydrate substances in the charcoal were identified as levoglucosan, levoglucosenone, furans and furaldehydes.Charcoal fragments from different plants produced similar pyrolysates. Markers of ‘thermolabile’ (non-charred or weakly charred) biomass disappeared as sample age increased. Nonetheless, signal intensity improved with age, suggesting that the pyrolysability of the relatively ‘thermostable’ (condensed) BC fraction increased. We postulate that gradual oxidation of the condensed aromatic backbone of BC enhanced its susceptibility to pyrolysis.     

Electron energy loss spectrometry mapping

Among electron beam microanalytical techniques, electron energy loss spectrometry (EELS) offers unique advantages in terms of information content, sensitivity, limits of detection. This paper describes new methods and tools for acquiring families of spectra over many pixels on the specimen, i.e. spectrumimages, and for processing them. Applications in different fields of research, both in materials science and in life sciences, demonstrate the potential impact of the technique for characterizing nano-sized structures.     

Spatially resolved energy electron loss spectroscopy studies of iron oxide nanoparticles.

The oxidation state of iron oxide nanoparticles co-generated with soot during a combustion process was studied using electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS). Spatially resolved EELS spectra in the scanning transmission electron microscopy mode were collected to detect changes in the oxidation state between the cores and surfaces of the particles. Quantification of the intensity ratio of the white lines of the iron L-ionization edge was used to measure the iron oxidation state. Quantitative results obtained from Pearson's method, which can be directly compared with the literature data, indicated that the L3 /L2-intensity ratio for these particles changes from 5.5 +/- 0.3 in the particles' cores to 4.4 +/- 0.3 at their surfaces. This change can be directly related to the reduction of the iron oxidation state at the surface of the particles. Experimental results indicate that the cores of the particles are composed of gamma-Fe2O3, which seems to be reduced to FeO at their surfaces. These results were also supported by the fine structure of the oxygen K-edge and by the significant chemical shift of the iron L-edge.     

Nanostructurization in X-ray amorphous organic substances of geological origin

The nanosized structures of natural X-ray amorphous organic substances were examined with the use of atomic-force microscopy. The supramolecular structure types and particle sizes of natural solid bitumens from asphaltites to high anthraxolites were determined. It was shown that the supramolecular structure is suitable as a diagnostic structural criterion for grouping and subgrouping natural solid bitumens. Specific features of the nanostructure of Baltic amber were determined.     

Ni-P非晶态合金超细微粒的晶化行为

非晶态合金超细微粒因兼具非晶材料和超细微粒材料的特点而表现出优良的催化性能,近年来有关这类催化剂的制备与研究日益引起人们的重视.前文我们已报导Ni-P 非晶态合金超细微粒催化剂的化学制备方法,并初步探讨了制备条件对微粒粒度均匀性的影响.与单元金属超细微粒不同,二元合金超细微粒的表面性质不仅与粒度有关,而且与合金组元的结构状态有关.尤其是非晶态合金一定条件下会发生结构驰豫和晶化,从而可能导致微粒表面性质的变化.为此,本文对Ni-P 非晶态合金超细微粒的晶化行为进行了研究,首次获得Ni-P 超细微粒结构和表面形态的变化规律,为深入研究其结构和催化性能之间的关系提供基本信息.