Electrochemical Deposition of Gold Metal Particles into 3‐Dimensional Polypyrrole Film Deposited on a Highly Oriented Pyrolytic Graphite

Electrochemical techniques and lateral friction microscopy (LFM) are exploited to characterize the deposition of gold metal particles onto the 3‐dimensional (3‐D) polypyrrole (PPy) film deposited on 2‐dimensional (2‐D) highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) substrate surface in an aqueous solution involving 0.01 M pyrrole and 0.1 M LiClO₄? 3H₂O. Cyclic voltammetry is utilized to find the gold deposition potential onto the PPy film from 0.001 M KAu(CN)₂/KOH solution. The gold deposition potential is found to be in the range of ?1.2 V to ?1.4 V. Chronoamperometry is used to find out the nucleation and growth mechanism of gold metal particles onto PPy film. When the PPy film is thin, the mechanism follows the 3‐D instantaneous and moved towards 3‐D progressive as the film thickness increases. Considering the high resistance of thick PPy film and insulating and compact nature of the film at more cathodic potentials, it is suggested that the gold nuclei are formed first on the HOPG substrate surface, move to the PPy film surface and then distributed inside the PPy matrix. Since the friction of gold and the PPy film is different, the LFM is found to be an effective tool to see the distribution of gold particles in the domain boundaries of the PPy film.     

Electrochemical nucleation of lead and copper on indium-tin oxide electrodes

The nucleation process of Pb and Cu onto indium-tin oxide electrodes was studied by single potentiostatic steps using 0.1×10^–4 mol L^–1 Cu(NO₃)₂ and 2×10^–2 mol L^–1 Pb(NO₃)₂ solutions in aqueous 1.0 mol L^–1 NaNO₃. The current, I_max, and the time, t_max, corresponding to the maximum, were evaluated by 3D nucleation with a diffusion-controlled growth model for instantaneous and progressive nucleation. The non-dimensional plots of (I/I_max)² vs. t/t_max showed that Cu and Pb nucleation closely followed the response predicted for instantaneous nucleation. Other parameters, such as I vs. t^1/2 and I²_maxt_max, as well as nuclei micrographs, were analyzed, corroborating the results obtained.     

Evaluation of Structure,Nucleation and Growth Mechanism of Electropolymerized Polypyrrole on Highly Oriented Pyrolytic Graphite Electrode

Chronoamperometry (i–t) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were used to study the nucleation and growth mechanism of electropolymerized polypyrrole formed on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) substrate surface. From i–t measurements it was found that the nucleation and growth mechanism was a 3‐D progressive after nuclei overlapping. However, before nuclei overlapping, it was not clear whether the mechanism was 2‐D instantaneous or 3‐D progressive. This ambiguity in the nucleation and growth mechanism was confirmed as 3‐D progressive from the results of AFM measurements. In addition to nucleation and growth mechanism, possible models were proposed for different structures observed on the AFM image of polypyrrole, obtained from very early stages of polymerization.     

Investigation of the growth rate of β-cyclodextrin in water during both flow-cell and batch experiments

Growth rate measurements of β-cyclodextrin in water were performed both ways. Firstly, experiments were conducted with single monocrystals located in a supersaturation-controlled flow cell. Diffusional limitations and perturbations due to a competition between surface secondary nucleation and growth at high level of supersaturation have been put in evidence. The evolution of the growth rate with supersaturation has been modelled with a BCF law, assuming a screw dislocation mechanism. Secondly seeded cooling batch trials have been carried on in a well-mixed suspension crystallizer in order to assess the growth rate of the seeds. Refractometry was used as an in situ sensor for measuring the evolution of the concentration of the solute. Measurements of the crystals size distribution of the seeds and of the final crystals are performed off line with laser diffraction technique. A kinetic law with three parameters allows a consistent assessment of the growth of the seeds. The comparison of the two sets of data shows that overall growth rate of the seed is partially limited by diffusion. Nevertheless, the estimation of a surface integration growth kinetic coefficient from batch trials is rather difficult. The theoretical framework of nucleation models developed by Mersmann et al. (Crystallization Technology Handbook, second ed., Marcel Dekker, New York, 2001, pp. 45–80 and 81–144) coupled with the estimated growth kinetics can therefore be used to better monitor the seeding process during batch crystallization operations so as to favor the growth of the seed crystals.     

Measurement, modelling and simulation of defects in as-grown Czochralski silicon

Defects in as-grown and heat-treated 150 and 200 mm Czochralski silicon crystals are investigated for different crystal pulling conditions and thermal treatments. First results are presented using noncontact carrier recombination imaging for detection of electrically active defects. The defect densities and sizes are compared with the results of computer modelling, suggesting that the observed defects in as-grown material are most likely large voids, possibly partially filled with silicon oxide. In contrast, the defects observed after prolonged heat treatments are silicon oxide precipitates with a density which is several orders of magnitude larger. The voids nucleate at temperatures above 1100°C by a homogeneous nucleation process and grow further to the observed size during further cooling of the crystal. They are responsible for the midfield breakdown of 10–50 nm gate oxides.     

由成核率数据拟合饱和蒸汽压力

Saturated vapor pressure was calculated from the nucleation experimental data using the thermodynamically consistent nucleation theory in which the effect of real gas is considered. The cubic polynomial fit equations of saturation pressure for several substances were obtained based on the calculation. The results of the calculations were compared to those of thermodynamic equilibrium equation and the empirical equation and applied to the predictions of the classical nucleation theory. The results show that the saturation pressures estimated from the nucleation data agree fairly well with those of empirical equations for the substances investigated, and this indicates that the predictions from the classical nucleation theory are close to the experimental data.     

An experimental investigation of cold storage in an encapsulated thermal storage tank

This paper experimentally investigates the thermal performance and the pressure drop of an encapsulated thermal storage tank during the charging process. A polyvinyl chloride (PVC) hollow cylinder is used as the thermal storage tank. The cylindrical capsules inside the thermal storage tank utilize water added with nucleation agents as the phase change material (PCM), and the coolant is the aqueous solution of ethylene glycol. A series of experiments were carried out to investigate the effects of the inlet coolant temperature and coolant flow rate on nucleation of capsules, heat transfer and pressure drop of the tank. The results indicate that cool energy can be fully stored in the form of latent heat when the inlet coolant temperature is set below the temperature with 100% nucleation probability. The lower the inlet coolant temperature and the larger the coolant flow rate, the more efficient the storage tank. A correlation for the pressure drop of coolant during a charging process is also developed.     

氧化-还原低温引发苯乙烯/丙烯酸丁酯细乳液聚合粒度分布和成核机理的研究

用氧化还原引发剂(NH₄)₂S₂O₈/NaHSO₃研究了苯乙烯(St)/丙烯酸丁酯(BA)低温下的细乳液共聚合,细乳液单体液滴在亚微米级(100～400nm).测定了聚合过程中粒子大小及分布的变化,发现细乳液聚合随引发剂、乳化剂和共乳化剂浓度的增加,乳胶粒子尺寸变小,分布变宽,并且比相同条件下传统乳液聚合的粒子大.计算了聚合过程中粒子数变化规律及乳化剂覆盖率,讨论了细乳液与传统乳液中引发剂、乳化剂对反应过程的影响及成核机理的差异.     

Dynamic triggering of a spin-transition by a pulsed magnetic field

We report the first study of the effect of a high pulsed magnetic field on a spin transition complex in the solid state. The high spin fraction was determined by optical reflectivity. Sizeable effects are observed for the well-known spin transition solid Fe(Phen)₂(NCS)₂. In the hysteresis loop temperature range, an increase in the HS fraction is obtained, with an irreversible (reversible) character in the ascending (descending) branch of the loop. The time dependence of the HS fraction provides information on the kinetics of the spin-crossover process at the spin transition. Received 23 February 1999 and Received in final form 8 June 1999     

壳聚糖/二氯乙酸溶致液晶的热致相转变

关于壳聚糖及其各种衍生物的溶致液晶的研究已有报道^[13],但尚未见到有关壳聚糖/有机酸液晶溶液的热致相转变的报道.本文研究了壳聚糖/二氯乙酸液晶溶液的相转变,并探讨了该体系的相转变机理.