Composites of poly(ε‐caprolactone) and Mo6S3I6 Nanowires

Composites of poly(ε‐caprolactone) (PCL) and molybdenum sulfur iodine (MoSI) nanowires were prepared using twin‐screw extrusion. Extensive microscopic examination of the composites revealed the nanowires were well dispersed in the PCL matrix, although bundles of Mo₆S₃I₆ ropes were evident at higher loadings. Secondary electron imaging (SEI) showed the nanowires had formed an extensive network throughout the PCL matrix, resulting in increased electrical conductivity of PCL, by eight orders of magnitude, and an electrical percolation threshold of 6.5 × 10^?3 vol%. Thermal analysis (DSC), WAXD, and hot stage polarized optical microscopy (HSPOM) experiments revealed Mo₆S₃I₆ addition altered PCL crystallization kinetics, nucleation density, and crystalline content. A greater number of smaller spherulites were formed via heterogeneous nucleation. The onset of thermal decomposition (TGA) of PCL decreased by 70°C, a consequence of the thermal degradation of Mo₆S₃I₆ to MoO₃, which in turn accelerates the formation of volatile gases during the first stage of PCL decomposition. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An optical study of the D-D neutron irradiation-induced defects in Co-and Cu-doped ZnO wafers

Room-temperature photoluminescence and optical transmittance spectroscopy of Co-doped(1×1014,5×1016,and 1×1017cm-2) and Cu-doped(5×1016cm-2) ZnO wafers irradiated by D-D neutrons(fluence of 2.9×1010 cm-2) have been investigated.After irradiation,the Co or Cu metal and oxide clusters in doped ZnO wafers are dissolved,and the wu¨rtzite structure of ZnO substrate for each sample remains unchanged and keeps in high c-axis preferential orientation.The degree of irradiation-induced crystal disorder reflected from the absorption band tail parameter(E0) is far greater for doped ZnO than the undoped one.Under the same doping concentration,the Cu-doped ZnO wafer has much higher irradiation-induced disorder than the Co-doped one.Photoluminescence measurements indicate that the introduction rate of both the zinc vacancy and the zinc interstitial is much higher for the doped ZnO wafer with a high doping level than the undoped one.In addition,both crystal lattice distortion and defect complexes are suggested to be formed in doped ZnO wafers.Consequently,the Co-or Cu-doped ZnO wafer(especially with a high doping level) exhibits very low radiation hardness compared with the undoped one,and the Cu-doped ZnO wafer is much less radiation-hard than the Co-doped one.     

Copper(II) complexes of imino-bis(methyl phosphonic acid) with some bio-relevant ligands. Equilibrium studies and hydrolysis of glycine methyl ester through complex formation

Binary and ternary complexes of Cu(II) involving imino-bis(methyl phosphonic acid) (IdP) abbreviated as H₄A and some selected bio-ligands, amino acids, peptides and DNA constituents (L), were examined. Cu(II) forms CuA and CuAH complexes with IdP. Ternary complexes are formed in a stepwise mechanism whereby iminodiphosphonic acid binds to Cu(II), followed by coordination of amino acid, peptide or DNA. The concentration distribution of the various complex species has been evaluated. The kinetics of base hydrolysis of glycine methyl ester in the presence of Cu(II)-IdP was studied in aqueous solution at different temperatures, and in dioxane-water solutions of different compositions at 25°C. The activation parameters are evaluated and discussed.     

New heterocyclic metallomesogens: synthesis,mesomorphic and thermal behaviours of Cu(II) complexes with 1,2,3-triazole-based Schiff bases ligands

Two series of new Cu(II) complexes derived from the reaction of copper acetate with the non-linear 1,2,3-triazole-based Schiff bases have successfully been synthesised. The structures of the ligands and its complexes were elucidated by elemental analysis, FT-IR, ¹H-NMR and UV–visible spectroscopic techniques. The differential scanning calorimetry and polarizing optical microscopy supported the anisotropic properties of uncoordinated ligands in which the focal conic fan-shaped texture and/or broken fan-shaped texture characteristics of respective SmA and SmC phases were recorded. However, not all of their corresponding Cu(II) complexes are mesogenic. Although the iodo-substituted ligands with even parity C₁₀H₂₉ to C₁₄H₃₃ are non-stable and exhibit SmA phase which is not reproducible, the ultimate Cu(II) complexes show exclusively stable SmA phase. This observation can be ascribed to the enhanced colinearity and molecular anisotropic by the presence of Cu-N and Cu-O coordination modes. On the other hand, the comparison studies show that different positions of ortho-hydroxyl group affect the mesomorphic and thermal behaviour of ligands and Cu(II) complexes.     

Preparation of a novel infrared low-emissive coating from the Cu powder modified by the polyethylene wax

Cu powder was coated with polyethylene wax via the flux-capping method in hope to avoid the oxidation of it, so the increment of the infrared emissivity of the coating can be greatly reduced. The prepared product was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The infrared emissivity of the prepared material was measured by Infrared Emissometer. The influence parameters that will affect the emissivity of the coating were systematically investigated, such as the content of coated Cu powder, coating fineness, coating thickness and aging process. The results indicated that the infrared emissivity value of the coating was reduced after Cu powder was coated with polyethylene wax. The polyethylene wax/Cu composites presented a homogenous sheet structure when the content of Cu powder increased to 30 wt.%, and it has a lower emissivity. The infrared emissivity of the coating increases rapidly as thickness increases and becomes steady above thickness of 70 μm. The composite coating exhibits lower emissivity value and excellent physical properties at coated Cu content of 20 wt.%. The emissivity of the coating that was prepared from the modification of the Cu powder was decreased with the decrement of the grinding fineness and increased with the aging time. The emissivity of the coating that was prepared from the modification of the Cu powder is always lower than that of the coating that only composed of the Cu powder with the increment of the aging time. Therefore, it can be concluded that the anti-oxidation of Cu powder is greatly improved after it was modified by polyethylene wax, which results in a novel coating with long-run low emissivity.     

Functional Fe–Pd nanomaterials synthesized by template-assisted methods

In this work, we highlight our recent progress in the synthesis and characterization of functional nanomaterials based on Fe–Pd ferromagnetic alloys by means of template-assisted deposition techniques employing highly ordered nanoporous alumina membranes, such as ordered arrays of nanowires and antidots thin films. Special attention is paid on their basic magnetic properties, such as coercivity, remanence and magnetic anisotropy, and their dependence on the microstructure and morphological parameters of the ordered arrays.     

Slow-rise and fast-drop current feature of ultraviolet response spectra for ZnO-nanowire film modulated by water molecules

This study describes the fabrication of ZnO-nanowire films by electro-chemical anodization of Zn foil.The ZnO films are characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy,X-ray diffraction patterns,and transmission electron microscopy,respectively.The ultraviolet(UV) photo-response properties of the surface-contacted ZnO film are studied through the current evolution processes under different relative humidities.Unlike the usually observed current spectra of the ZnO films,the drop time is shorter than the rise time.The photo-conductivity gain G and the response time τ are both increased with the increase of the applied bias.The photo-conductivity gain G is lowered with the increase of the environmental humidity,while the response time τ is increased.These results can be explained by considering three different surface processes:1) the electron-hole(e-p) pair generation by the UV light illumination,2) the following surface O2-species desorption,and 3) the photo-catalytic hydrolysis of water molecules adsorbed on the ZnO surface.The slow-rise and fast-drop current feature is suggested to originate from the sponge-like structure of the ZnO nanowires.