Behaviors of the positive temperature coefficient of resistance of poly(styrene‐co‐n‐butylacrylate) filled with Ni‐plated core‐shell polymeric particles

Conductive composite films of poly(styrene‐co‐n‐butylacrylate) copolymers filled with low‐density, Ni‐plated core‐shell polymeric particles were prepared and their behaviors of positive temperature coefficient of resistance (PTCR) were investigated. When the conductive fillers in the composite film were loaded beyond the critical volume, 10 up to 25 vol %, composite films exhibited a unique electrical resistant transition behavior, which the electrical resistance rapidly increased by several orders of magnitude at the critical temperature. The PTCR transition temperature, in general, occurred before the glass transition temperature of polymer matrix. Further increased the conductive filler loading to 30 vol %, the overpacked conduction paths were formed in the entire composite and the PTCR effects became blurred. While the composite film treated with thermal cycle several times from room temperature up to 120 °C, the electrical resistivity increased accompanied with the shift of the PTCR transition to lower temperature. The reason might have been caused by the formed interfacial cracks within the composite film. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 45: 322–329, 2007     

Radio-Frequency Hexamethyldisiloxane Plasma Deposition: A Comparison of Plasma- and Deposit-Chemistry

This study reports on the effect of input power to hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO) plasmas. The power dependence of the plasma-phase species and of the surface chemistry (of the deposits) has been investigated. Neutral and positive molecular species were detected within the plasma using mass spectrometry (MS). Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) was used to probe the molecular structure of the deposits. The elemental composition of the surface was determined by XPS and the deposition rate was monitored using a vibrating quartz crystal microbalance. Neutral and cationic molecules of mass greater than HMDSO were detected in the plasma. Their formation through ion-molecule reactions is proposed. Changes in the relative concentration of plasma-phase species follow those seen in molecular species detected at the deposit surface. Thus, we believe that the molecular structure of the deposits can be related to the species present in the plasma. While traditionally the dominant mechanism in deposit formation is assumed to be free radical combinations, we propose other possibilities involving cations with the aim of putting forward a new perspective on plasma polymerization mechanisms and thereby stimulating discussion.     

Characteristics of Ti0.97Co0.03O2:Sb0.01 dilute magnetic semiconducting thin films deposited at 500 °C by pulsed laser deposition

Epitaxial Ti_0.97Co_0.03O₂:Sb_0.01(TCO:Sb) films were deposited on R-Al₂O₃ (1 1 0 2) substrates at 500 °C in various deposition pressures by pulsed laser deposition. The solubility of cobalt within the films increases with decreasing deposition pressure at a deposition temperature of 500 °C. The TCO:Sb films deposited at 5×10⁻⁶ Torr exhibit a p-type anomalous Hall effect having a hole concentration of 6.1×10²²/cm³ at 300 K. On the other hand, films deposited at 4×10⁻⁴ Torr exhibits an n-type anomalous Hall effect having an electron concentration of about 1.1×10²¹/cm³. p- or n-type DMS characteristics depends on the change of the structure of TCO:Sb films and the solubility of Co is possible by controlling the deposition pressure.     

Influence of boric acid on the electrochemical deposition of Ni

The electrolytic deposition of Ni onto a paraffin-impregnated graphite electrode from supporting chloride electrolyte (0.5 mol dm⁻³ NaCl) adjusted to the required pH using dilute HCl is investigated. The effect of electrolyte composition on the Ni electrodeposition is studied using linear sweep voltammetry in the cathodic region. An elimination voltammetry procedure was applied to evaluate the polarization curves. The aim of this work was to deduce the mechanism of Ni reduction in the chloride bath as well as the influence of boric acid on this. Positively-charged NiCl⁺ ions were found to be the electroactive particles in the Ni reduction mechanism. The strong competition between the NiCl⁺, Cl⁻ and H⁺ ions for active sites at the electrode is discussed. Kinetically-controlled adsorption/desorption processes of various species were also confirmed using elimination voltammetry with a linear scan. The evolution of gaseous hydrogen, catalyzed by the freshly-deposited Ni, accompanies the electrodeposition process. The presence of boric acid at a sufficiently high concentration inhibits the deposition of Ni and, at the same time, improves the morphology and brightness, as well as the adhesion of the deposited Ni. Elimination voltammetry with a linear scan is an efficient way to evaluate current–potential curves that reflect the electrodeposition of one-component Ni coatings. By eliminating selected currents, additional interesting and useful information can be obtained from voltammetric data.     

Growth of oxide thin films for optical gas sensor applications

Tungsten trioxide and titanium dioxide thin films were synthesised by pulsed laser deposition. We used for irradiations of oxide targets an UV KrF* (λ = 248 nm, τ_FWHM ≅ 20 ns, ν = 2 Hz) excimer laser source, at 2 J/cm² incident fluence value. The experiments were performed in low oxygen pressure. The (0 0 1) SiO₂ substrates were heated during the thin film deposition process at temperature values within the 300-500 °C range. The structure and crystalline status of the obtained oxide thin films were investigated by high resolution transmission electron microscopy. Our analyses show that the films are composed by nanoparticles with average diameters from a few to a few tens of nm. Moreover, the films deposited at substrate temperatures higher than 300 °C are crystalline. The tungsten trioxide films consist of a mixture of triclinic and monoclinic phases, while the titanium dioxide films structure corresponds to the tetragonal anatase phase. The oxide films average transmittance in the visible-infrared spectral range is higher than 80%, which makes them suitable for sensor applications.     

Matrix assisted pulsed laser evaporation processing of triacetate-pullulan polysaccharide thin films for drug delivery systems

We report the first successful deposition of triacetate-pullulan polysaccharide thin films by matrix assisted pulsed laser evaporation. We used a KrF* excimer laser source (λ = 248 nm, τ ≈ 20 ns) operated at a repetition rate of 10 Hz. We demonstrated by FTIR that our thin films are composed of triacetate-pullulan maintaining its chemical structure and functionality. The dependence on incident laser fluence of the induced surface morphology is analysed.     

Carbon deposition on a Ni/α-Al2O3 catalyst

The kinetics of carbon deposition over a Ni/α-Al₂O₃ commercial catalyst, has been studied using CH₄−H₂ gas mixtures in the range of 748–873 K. A Hougen-Watson type model gives good agreement with the experimental rates.     

Underpotential deposition of tin(II) on a gold disc electrode and determination of tin in a tin plate sample

This work describes a study of the underpotential deposition (UPD) of Sn²⁺ on a polycrystalline gold disc electrode using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronocoulometry (CC). Sn²⁺ ions showed well-defined peaks from UPD and UPD stripping (UPD-S) in 1 mol/L HCl solutions, while bulk deposition (BD) and BD stripping (BD-S) of the ions were also observed. The measured UPD shifts, E_UPD, between the UPD-S and the BD-S peaks were more than 200 mV. The UPD charge and the surface coverage of tin were measured by CC. A new method for determining Sn²⁺ was therefore developed, based on the excellent electrochemical properties of the Au/Sn UPD system. A plot of the UPD-DPASV (differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry) signal versus the Sn(II) concentration was obtained for [Sn(II)] of 1.98×10^–7 to 3.64×10^–5 M. The method developed here has been applied to determine the tin in a tin plate sample.     

CO氢化催化剂表面活性位的动态法研究

用程序升温表面反应(TPSR)和程序升温还原(TPR)以及过渡应答(TR)等动态手段研究Ni/Al_2O_3催化剂表面上CO氢化反应的活性位状况。结果表明, 催化剂表面存在两种类型的活性位。其中A位来自表面上的聚晶体Ni, B位来自Ni与载体Al_2O_3强相互作用形成的Ni-Al化合物。实验结果还表明, CO在两个活性位都有吸附, 但在有H_2参与的条件下, 会影响二个活性位上的CO吸附量。