Synthesis of carbon nanotubes by CVD: Effect of acetylene pressure on nanotubes characteristics

The effect of acetylene partial pressure on the structural and morphological properties of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) synthesized by CVD on iron nanoparticles dispersed in a SiO₂ matrix as catalyst was investigated. The general growing conditions were: 110 cm³/min flow rate, 690 °C synthesis temperature, 180 Torr over pressure and two gas compositions: 2.5% and 10% C₂H₂/N₂. The catalyst and nanotubes were characterized by HR-TEM, SEM and DRX. TGA and DTA were also carried out to study degradation stages of synthesized CNTs. MWCNTs synthesized with low acetylene concentration are more regular and with a lower amount of amorphous carbon than those synthesized with a high concentration. During the synthesis of CNTs, amorphous carbon nanoparticles nucleate on the external wall of the nanotubes. At high acetylene concentration carbon nanoparticles grow, covering all CNTs’ surface, forming a compact coating. The combination of CNTs with this coating of amorphous carbon nanoparticles lead to a material with high decomposition temperature.     

3D-shaping of biodegradable photopolymers for hard tissue replacement

Continuously increasing life expectancy results in a rising number of bone diseases and fractures. Replacements from natural sources are not only limited in their availability, they also have some serious disadvantages such as possible immunological reactions or transmission of diseases. New synthetic biodegradable materials based on photopolymers could be an alternative solution. In these investigations an acrylate-based monomer formulation has been developed, consisting of a biodegradable basis monomer which is derived from gelatin, different reactive diluents, an appropriate photoinitiator and filler materials. For the three-dimensional shaping process stereolithography is the method of choice because of its capability to produce cellular structures with high resolutions.     

Synthesis of carbon black/polystyrene conductive nanocomposite. Pickering emulsion effect characterized by TEM

In this study, carbon black/polystyrene electrically conductive composites were obtained by suspension polymerization technique. The composite was characterized using transmission electron microscopy, which indicated two outstanding features concerning to the carbon black; first, that the carbon particles were adsorbed onto the surface of the polystyrene particles, similarly as in the Pickering emulsion phenomenon and second, that the primary aggregate structure of the carbon black was significantly affected by the dispersion process. On the other hand, the composite resistivity was in the order of 200 Ωcm, which was attributed to the direct contact of primary carbon black particles (percolation) and not to the tunneling effect. The obtained composite was evaluated as the electrically conductive element in SBR matrix.     

A lightning initiation mechanism: application to a thunderstorm electrification model

The use of numerical models has greatly increased our understanding of the electrical and microphysical process within electrified clouds. We use the University of Washington, 1.5-dimensional thunderstorm model to examine the effects of including a runaway electron based lightning initiation mechanism. We find that this mechanism can significantly alter the electrification history of modeled storms and produce vertical electric field profiles that are very similar to those of observed storms. To cite this article: R. Solomon et al., C. R. Physique 3 (2002) 1325–1333.     

Micro‐Raman and stratigraphic studies of the paintings on the ‘Cembalo’ model musical instrument (A.D. 1650) and laser‐induced degradation of the detected pigments

Micro‐fragments of the painted part of the ‘Cembalo’ model by Michele Todini (1625–1689) are investigated. The technique used for painting the terracotta base was studied via the stratigraphic analyses. No background layer of inorganic materials, e.g. gypsum, was found. To prevent absorption effects due to the terracotta porosity, a very thin layer of proteinaceous material was probably used. The micro‐Raman analyses have revealed the use of pigments currently used in the post‐Renaissance period (lead white, indigo, yellow of iron hydroxide, gypsum, hematite and carbon black) mixed with a pigment, the Prussian blue, discovered in A.D . 1704. This raises the authenticity problem of the work of art, a problem analysed and discussed in presenting the history of the work of art, and after the pigment study. The presence of degraded lead white is recognized via the laser‐induced degradation of the irradiated material. The possibility of a restoring action of the painted parts, as opposite to the non‐originality of the work, is considered and discussed. Since most part of the investigated pigments shows laser‐induced effects, a careful study of this phenomenon is performed by using the modern counterparts of the ancient pigments. For different laser powers, the temperatures of the investigated zones have been obtained via the detailed balance principle and connected to the laser‐induced degradation effects. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Importance of van der Waals interaction for organic molecule-metal junctions: adsorption of thiophene on Cu(110) as a prototype

We report ab initio calculations for the interface energetics of a weakly adsorbed organic molecule on a metal surface, which serves as a model interface relevant for organic electronics. The studied thiophene ring is found to be physisorbed on the Cu(110) surface with an adsorption energy of -0.50 eV. Nonlocal correlations, i.e., van der Waals interactions, are solely responsible for the binding in this weakly interacting system, and the choice of the proper exchange-correlation function is crucially important. The adsorption of thiophene lowers the metal work function due to the formation of surface dipoles while no sizable charge transfer is found.     

Using environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) as a quantitative method to analyse the attachment of Giardia duodenalis to epithelial cells

Giardia duodenalis is a human parasite that colonises the small intestine. In some studies, it may be necessary to estimate the parasite-host adhesion index. When working in vitro, it is very difficult to determine the relative number of parasites adhered to intestinal cells because parasites might be removed from enterocytes during specimen preparation. We have encountered such difficulties with sample analyses when using light and conventional scanning electron microscopy, including the loss of adherent cells during the processing steps. In this study, we showed that environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM), which allows the examination of specimens at normal atmospheric pressure or in very low vacuum without any previous treatment, can be used effectively in quantitative studies of the parasite-host relationship.     

Critical behavior of the absorbing state transition in the contact process with relaxing immunization

We introduce a model for the Contact Process with relaxing immunization CPRI  . In this model, local memory is introduced by a time and space dependence of the contamination probability. The model has two parameters: a typical immunization time τ$\tau$ and a maximum contamination probability a$a$. The system presents an absorbing state phase transition whenever the contamination probability a$a$ is above a minimum threshold. For short immunization times, the system evolves to a statistically stationary active state. Above _τc(a)${\tau }_c\left(a\right)$, immunization predominates and the system evolves to the absorbing vacuum state. We employ a finite-size scaling analysis to show that the transition belongs to the standard directed percolation universality class. The critical immunization time diverges in the limit of a→1$a\to 1$. In this regime, the density of active sites decays exponentially as τ$\tau$ increases, but never reaches the vacuum state in the thermodynamic limit.     

Suspension and fall of heavy particles in random two-dimensional flow

We investigate the settling of heavy particles in a steady, two-dimensional random velocity field, and find instances in which particle suspension occurs. This leads to a bimodal velocity distribution that may explain some apparently conflicting results reported in the literature. The bimodal distribution is typically smeared out by a time dependence of the ambient flow but, if the time variation is slow, the settling rates of some particles will be as well. The resulting broadbanded velocity distribution of the settling particles will have significance for processes such as rain drop formation, in which the spread of particle velocities affects the statistics of particle collisions.