A thermodynamic approach to mechanical stability of nanosized particles

Thermodynamic stability conditions for nanoparticles (resulting from non-negativity of the second variation of the free energy) have been analyzed for two cases: (i) a nonvolatile nanosized particle with the size-dependent surface tension; (ii) the limiting case of larger objects when the surface tension takes its macroscopic value. It has been shown that the mechanical stability of a nanoparticle, i.e. its stability relative to the volume fluctuations, is defined by an interplay between the excess (“surface”) free energy and the volumetric elastic energy. According to the results obtained, noble gas clusters and metal nanoparticles satisfy the mechanical stability condition. At the same time, water nanodrops, as well as nanoparticles presented by nonpolar organic molecules, correspond to the stability limit. Among the investigated systems, the stability condition is not carried out for n-Pentane clusters.     

On applicability of Gibbs thermodynamics to nanoparticles

The problem of applicability of thermodynamics to small objects has been investigated. It is shown that the Gibbs surface phase method may be extended to nanoparticles if the effective surface tension (the specific excess free energy) is interpreted as a function of the particle radius. Dedicated to the Centennial of J.W. Gibb's Death     

Preparation of ZnO nanoparticles in amphiphilic gel network

Nanosized zinc oxide (ZnO) particles were prepared in an amphiphilic N,N-dimethylacrylamide (DMAA) gel composed of a three-dimensional network with an effective pore size of the order of nanometers. The procedures consist of two major steps: (1) preparation of a precursor and (2) hydrolysis of the precursor to form nanoparticles. First, the plate-type dry gel was swollen in ethanol containing zinc acetate (ZnAc) in order to diffuse ZnAc molecules into the gel. Then, the ethanolic solution containing the gel was heated to ∼80°C to prepare the precursor. In the hydrolysis of the precursor, lithium hydroxide was added as the catalyst to the precursor solution containing the gel, and the solution was placed in an ultrasonic bath. Although the DMAA gel containing ZnO particles was completely transparent, it exhibited a yellow-green luminescence when irradiated with UV light. The ZnO nanoparticles stably dispersed in the gel network without growing, aggregating, or flowing out for over several months at a relatively high temperature of 50°C. The particle size depended on the effective pore size of the gel network, which could be controlled by the synthesis composition of the gel, that is, by the concentrations of DMAA as the primary monomer and N,N′-methylenebisacrylamide (MBAA) as the cross-linker used for synthesizing the gel. This implies that the particle size can be controlled at the nanosized level by the synthesis composition of the gel.     

Surface tension and Curie temperature in ferroelectric nanowires and nanodots

The effect of surface tension associated internal pressure on the Curie phase transition in ferroelectric nanowires and nanodots has been investigated using a modified Landau–Ginzburg–Devonshire phenomenological approach. Based on experimental data on the size- dependent phase transition in freely suspended single-crystalline ferroelectric nanocrystals, bulk surface tension coefficients for BaTiO₃ and PbTiO₃ have been determined to be of the order of 1–2 N/m. The present theoretical study reproduces the size dependence of the transition temperature experimentally acquired in individual BaTiO₃ single-crystalline nanowires. In the case of PbTiO₃ single-crystalline nanodots, however, in order to fit the theoretically calculated size-dependent ferroelectric transition with the experimental data, an effective surface tension coefficient has been introduced, which is size dependent and can be much higher than the bulk value. An erratum to this article can be found at     

Hydrogenation of p-chloronitrobenzene on Ni–B Nanometal Catalysts

A series of Ni–B catalysts were prepared by mixing nickel acetate in 50% ethanol/water or methanol/water solution. The solution of sodium borohydride (1 M) in excess amount to nickel was then added dropwise into the mixture to ensure full reduction of nickel cations. The mol ratio of boron to nickel in mother solution was 3 to 1. The effects of preparation conditions such as temperature, stirring speed, and sheltering gas on the particle size, surface compositions, electronic states of surface atoms and catalytic activities of the Ni–B catalysts were studied. Ranel nickel catalyst was included for comparison. These catalysts were characterized by N₂ sorption, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The catalysts were tested for liquid phase hydrogenation of p-chloronitrobenzene. All of the catalysts prepared in this study had nanosized particles. The preparation condition has significant influence on the particle size and surface compositions of the catalyst. The Ni–B catalyst was passivated by boron; therefore it was more stable than Raney nickel and did not catch fire after exposure to air. The catalysts prepared under N₂ flow could suppress the oxidation of Ni by the dissolved oxygen in water and had metallic state of nickel. The catalyst prepared with vigorous stirring at 25°C under N₂ stream yielded the smallest particles and resulted in the highest activity. It was much more active than the Raney nickel catalyst. The reaction condition also has pronounced effect on the hydrogenation activity. Using methanol as the reaction solvent increased p-chloronitrobenzene conversion to a large extent, compared to that using ethanol as the reaction medium. The selectivity of main product (p-chloroaniline) was greater than 99% on all of the Ni–B catalysts.     

Physical mechanism of the (tri)critical point generation

We discuss some ideas resulting from a phenomenological relation recently declared between the tension of string connecting the static quark-antiquark pair and surface tension of corresponding cylindrical bag. This relation analysis leads to the temperature of vanishing surface tension coefficient of the QGP bags at zero baryonic charge density as T _?? = 152.9 ± 4.5 MeV. We develop the view point that this temperature value is not a fortuitous coincidence with the temperature of (partial) chiral symmetry restoration as seen in the lattice QCD simulations. Besides, we argue that T _?? defines the QCD (tri)critical endpoint temperature and claim that a negative value of surface tension coefficient recently discovered is not a sole result but is quite familiar for ordinary liquids at the supercritical temperatures.     

Mechanism of Cu transport along clean Si surfaces

Cu diffusion along clean Si(111), (110) and (100) surfaces are investigated by Auger electron spectroscopy and low energy electron diffraction. The effective diffusion coefficients of copper are measured in the temperature range from 500 to 650°C. It is shown that the Cu transport along silicon surface occurs by the diffusion of Cu atoms through Si bulk and the segregation of Cu atoms to the surface during the diffusion process. It is found that the segregation coefficients of Cu to silicon surface during the diffusion process depend on surface orientation.     

Mass-transport driven by surface instabilities in metals under reactive plasma/ion beam treatment at moderate temperature

This paper presents a generalized approach to the mechanisms of oxidation, hydrogenation and nitriding of metals under ion irradiation with reactive particles at elevated temperatures. Experimental results on the plasma oxidation of bilayered Y/Zr films, the plasma hydrogenation of Mg films and the ion beam (1.2 keV N ₂ ⁺ ) nitriding of stainless steel are presented and discussed. We make special emphasis on the analysis of surface effects and their role in the initiation of mixing of bilayered films, the ingress of reactive species in the bulk and the restructuring of the surface layers. It is suggested that primary processes driving reactive atoms from the surface into the bulk are surface instabilities induced by thermal and ballistic surface atom relocations under reactive adsorption and ion irradiation, respectively. The diffusion of adatoms and vacancies, at temperature when they become mobile, provide the means to relax the surface energy. It is recognized that the stabilizing effect of surface adatom diffusion is significant at temperatures below 300–350°C. As the temperature increases, the role of surface adatom diffusion decreases and processes in the bulk become dominant. The atoms of subsurface monolayers occupy energetically favorable sites on the surface, and result in reduced surface energy.     

Effect of TiO2 nanoparticle size on the performance of PVDF membrane

The comparison of the performance and morphology was carried out between neat PVDF membrane and PVDF composite membranes with nanosized TiO₂ particles of different size. The results of permeability and instrumental analysis illustrated that nanometer size obviously affected the performance and structure of the PVDF membranes. The smaller nanoparticles could improve the antifouling property of the PVDF membrane more remarkably. The surface and cross-section of the membranes were observed with an atomic force microscopy (AFM), a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The TiO₂/PVDF membrane with smaller nanoparticles had smaller mean pore size on its surface and more apertures inside the membrane. X-ray diffraction (XRD) experiments also suggested that smaller TiO₂ nanoparticles had stronger effect on the crystallization of PVDF molecules.     

水平梯度表面能材料表面上的滴状凝结换热系数

本文在均质表面的单个球缺形液滴换热模型和液滴通用尺度分布规律的基础上,结合梯度表面能材料表面的液滴分布和凝结换热特性,得到了一维水平梯度表面能材料表面上的滴状凝结换热计算式。在此基础上,研究了壁面过冷度、接触角梯度、工质物性等参数对梯度表面能材料表面滴状凝结换热性能的影响。结果表明:随着过冷度的增加和凝结工质汽化潜热的增大和表面张力的减小和接触角梯度的增大,平均表面凝结换热系数会增大。     

基于悬滴法的纳米燃油表面张力测量与分析

以柴油为基液、溴化十六烷三甲基铵(Cetyltrimethyl Ammonium Bromide,CTAB)为助溶剂,通过两步法配制CNT(Carbon Nanotube),CeO2及Co3O4纳米燃油.采用悬滴法测量柴油与纳米燃油的表面张力,探究纳米物质种类、粒径、质量分数及温度对纳米燃油表面张力的影响.研究发现,在...     

单脉冲纳秒激光诱导硅表面微结构

利用Nd:YAG纳秒脉冲激光(波长532nm)在空气中对单晶硅表面进行单脉冲辐照,研究了激光能量密度和光斑面积变化对微结构的影响。通过场发射扫描电子显微镜和原子力显微镜(AFM)对样品表征,并对纳秒激光辐照硅的热力学过程进行分析。结果显示:当脉冲激光的能量密度接近硅的熔融阈值且光斑直径小于8μm时,形成尖峰微结构;随着能量密度或光斑面积增大,尖峰结构消失,形成边缘隆起和弹坑微结构。通过流体动力学模型得到微结构形貌的解析解,模拟得到的微结构形貌与实验测得的AFM数据一致。研究表明微结构的形成主要是由于表面张力引起的熔融硅流动。表面张力与表面温度和表面活性剂的质量浓度有关。温度梯度引起的热毛细流作用和表面活性剂浓度引起的毛细作用共同影响下形成尖峰、边缘隆起和弹坑微结构。     

Surface Thermodynamics,Viscosity, Activation Energy of N-Methyldiethanolamine Aqueous Solutions Promoted by Tetramethylammonium Arginate

The surface tension and viscosity values of N-methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) aqueous solutions promoted by tetramethylammonium arginate ([N₁₁₁₁][Arg]) were measured and modeled. The experimental temperatures were 303.2 to 323.2 K. The mass fractions of MDEA (w_MDEA) and [N₁₁₁₁][Arg] (w_[N1111][Arg]) were 0.300 to 0.500 and 0.025 to 0.075, respectively. The measured surface tension and viscosity values were satisfactorily fitted to thermodynamic models. With the aid of experimentally viscosity data, the activation energy (Ea) and H₂S diffusion coefficient (D_H2S) of MDEA-[N₁₁₁₁][Arg] aqueous solution were deduced. The surface entropy and surface enthalpy of the solutions were calculated using the fitted model of the surface tension. The quantitative relationship between the calculated values (surface tension, surface entropy, surface enthalpy, viscosity, activation energy, and H₂S diffusion coefficient) and the operation conditions (mass fraction and temperature) was demonstrated.     

动力学研究AlN/α-Al2Ｏ3（0001）薄膜生长初期的吸附与扩散

采用基于第一性原理的从头计算分子动力学方法,计算了300—800℃下AlN吸附过程与系统能量、动力学轨迹以及扩散系数.研究表明,吸附过程由物理吸附、化学吸附和表面稳定态三个阶段组成,在吸附成键过程中,温度越高,粒子平均表面扩散能力增强.N原子的扩散系数大于Al原子的扩散系数,尤其是在物理吸附阶段.在较高温度条件下（大于700℃）,N的解吸附作用明显增强,不利于AlN的稳定吸附生长,500—700℃之间的温度有利于AlN在α-Al₂Ｏ₃（0001）表面的稳定吸附生 关键词： 2Ｏ₃（0001）表面')" href="#">α-Al₂Ｏ₃（0001）表面 扩散 吸附生长 从头计算分子动力学     

Some examples of negative feedback in the Earth climate system

Temporal variability of daily time series for total solar irradiance at the top of the atmosphere, the Microwave Sounding Unit (MSU) based global, hemispherical and zonal average temperature for the lower troposphere and stratosphere together with 5 surface air temperature data, measured at various meteorological stations have been studied by means of the structure function. From the growth rate of the structure function in the time interval between 32 and 4096 days it follows that the variability of the series represents an anti-persistent (AP) behavior. This property in turn shows a domination of negative feedback in the physical system generating the lower tropospheric temperature variability. Distribution of the increments over various ranges and correlations between them are calculated in order to determine the quantitative characteristics describing temporal variability.     

Molecular dynamics simulation of the surface properties of nanocrystalline uranium dioxide

The molecular dynamics method is used to simulate the nanosized UO₂ crystals. The phase-transition temperatures are calculated for the nanosized crystals of the uranium dioxide. It is demonstrated that the melting point and the temperature of the transition to the superionic state (melting of the anion sublattice) of the crystals decrease with decreasing sizes. In particular, melting point (T _m ～ 2300 K) for the cubic nanocrystal with a size of 3.3 nm is lower than the melting point of the single crystal by almost 1000 K. The calculated surface energies are in agreement with the experimental results. The dependence of the surface energy on the size of the UO₂ nanocrystals is obtained. The effect of the nanocrystal temperature on the surface energy is studied. The temperature dependence of the thickness of the melt layer is obtained in the framework of the model of the heterogeneous melting. The parameters and dependences can be used for the further analysis of the microstructure properties of nuclear fuel in working systems.     

Phase transitions of perfluorocarbon nanoemulsion induced with ultrasound: A mathematical model

While ultrasound has been used in many medical and industrial applications, only recently has research been done on phase transformations induced by ultrasound. This paper presents a numerical model and the predicted results of the phase transformation of a spherical nanosized droplet of perfluorocarbon in water. Such a model has applications in acoustic droplet vaporization, the generation of gas bubbles for medical imaging, therapeutic delivery and other biomedical applications.The formation of a gas phase and the subsequent bubble dynamics were studied as a function of acoustic parameters, such as frequency and amplitude, and of the physical aspects of the perfluorocarbon nanodroplets, such as chemical species, temperature, droplet size and interfacial energy. The model involves simultaneous applications of mass, energy and momentum balances to describe bubble formation and collapse, and was developed and solved numerically. It was found that, all other parameters being constant, the maximum bubble size and collapse velocity increases with increasing ultrasound amplitude, droplet size, vapor pressure and temperature. The bubble size and collapse velocity decreased with increasing surface tension and frequency. These results correlate with experimental observations of acoustic droplet vaporization.     

Surface diffusion of Pb on clean Si surfaces

Pb diffusion on clean Si(111), (100), and (110) surfaces was studied by Auger electron spectroscopy and low energy electron diffraction in the temperature range from 100 to 300°C. It is shown that lead transport along sillicon surfaces takes place via the mechanism of solid-phase spreading with a sharp moving boundary. The temperature dependence of the Pb diffusion coefficients on Si(111), (100) and (110) surfaces have been obtained. A Si(110)-4×2-Pb surface structure has been observed for the first time.     

Quantification of MgO surface excess on the SnO2 nanoparticles and relationship with nanostability and growth

In this work, we experimentally showed that the spontaneous segregation of MgO as surface excess in MgO doped SnO₂ nanoparticles plays an important role in the system's energetics and stability. Using X-ray fluorescence in specially treated samples, we quantitatively determined the fraction of MgO forming surface excess when doping SnO₂ with several different concentrations and established a relationship between this amount and the surface energy of the nanoparticles using the Gibbs approach. We concluded that the amount of Mg ions on the surface was directly related to the nanoparticles total free energy, in a sense that the dopant will always spontaneously distribute itself to minimize it if enough diffusion is provided. Because we were dealing with nanosized particles, the effect of MgO on the surface was particularly important and has a direct effect on the equilibrium particle size (nanoparticle stability), such that the lower the surface energy is, the smaller the particle sizes are, evidencing and quantifying the thermodynamic basis of using additives to control SnO₂ nanoparticles stability.     

Quantitative single point imaging with compressed sensing

A novel approach with respect to single point imaging (SPI), compressed sensing, is presented here that is shown to significantly reduce the loss of accuracy of reconstructed images from under-sampled acquisition data. SPI complements compressed sensing extremely well as it allows unconstrained selection of sampling trajectories. Dynamic processes featuring short NMR signal can thus be more rapidly imaged, in our case the absorption of moisture by a cereal-based wafer material, with minimal loss of image quantification. The absolute moisture content distribution is recovered via a series of images acquired with variable phase encoding times allowing extrapolation to time zero for each image pixel and the effective removal of contrast.