Control of wettability of hydrogenated amorphous carbon thin films by laser-assisted micro- and nanostructuring

A flexible and rapid surface functionalization of amorphous carbon films shows a great potential for various application fields such as biological surfaces and tribological systems. For this purpose, the combination of thin film deposition and subsequent laser material processing was investigated. Amorphous carbon layers doped with hydrogen were deposited on silicon wafers by reactive direct-current magnetron sputtering. Films with three different hydrogen contents were synthesized. Subsequent to the thin film deposition process, UV laser material processing at wavelengths of 193 nm or 248 nm was performed with respect to chemical surface modification and surface structuring on micro- and nanometer scale. Depending on structure size and laser-induced chemical surface modification the adjustment of the surface energy and wetting behaviour in a broad range from hydrophobic to hydrophilic was possible. The chemical modification and the ablation mechanisms near the ablation threshold were strongly influenced by the hydrogen content in amorphous carbon thin films.Structural and chemical information of the as-deposited and modified films was obtained by Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and contact angle measurements.     

Effect of surface nanocrystallization induced by fast multiple rotation rolling on hardness and corrosion behavior of 316L stainless steel

A nanostructured layer was fabricated by using fast multiple rotation rolling (FMRR) on the surface of 316L stainless steel. The microstructure in the surface was characterized by transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The effects of FMRR on the microhardness, surface roughness and corrosion behavior of the stainless steel were investigated by microhardness measurements, surface roughness measurements, potentiodynamic polarization curves and pitting corrosion tests. The surface morphologies of pitting corrosion specimens were characterized by scanning electron microscopy. The results show that FMRR can cause surface nanocrystallization with the grain size ranges from 6 to 24 nm in the top surface layer of the sample. The microhardness of FMRR specimen in the top surface layer remarkably increases from 190 to 530 HV. However, the surface roughness slightly rises after FMRR treatment. The potentiodynamic polarization curves and pitting corrosion tests indicated that the FMRR treated 316L stainless steel with a surface nanocrystallized layer reduced the corrosion resistance in a 3.5% NaCl solution and enhanced the pitting corrosion rate in a FeCl₃ solution. Possible reasons leading to the decrease in corrosion resistance were discussed.     

ToF-SIMS and XPS study of ancient papers

The surface composition of 18th century papers was investigated by means of ToF-SIMS and XPS. The aim of the present study was to explore the possibility of using these surface sensitive methods to obtain information which can help to determine the manufacturing process, provenance and state of conservation of ancient papers. The ToF-SIMS results indicate that the analyzed papers were sized by gelatin and that alum was added as hardening agent. The paper sheets produced in near geographical areas but in different paper mills exhibit a similar surface composition and morphology of the fibers as shown by the ToF-SIMS measurements. The ToF-SIMS and the XPS results indicate that a significant fraction of the cellulose fibers is not covered by the gelatin layer. This was observed for the ancient papers and for a modern handmade paper manufactured according to the old recipes.     

Synthesis and characterization of polyurethane/SiO2 nanocomposites

In order to achieve good dispersion of nano-SiO₂ and increase the interactions between nano-SiO₂ and PU matrix, nano-SiO₂ was firstly modified with poly(propylene glycol) phosphate ester (PPG-P) which was a new polymeric surfactant synthesized through the esterification of poly(propylene glycol) (PPG) and polyphosphoric acid (PPA). Then a series of polyurethane (PU)/SiO₂ nanocomposites were prepared via in situ polymerization. The surface modification of nano-SiO₂, the microstructure and the properties of nanocomposites were investigated by FTIR, SEM, XRD and TGA. It was found that good dispersion of nano-SiO₂ achieved in PU/SiO₂ nanocomposite after the modification with PPG-P. The segmented structures of PU were not interfered by the presence of nano-SiO₂ in these nanocomposites.     

The role of surface terminations on the band structure and optical properties of silicon nanonets

The ab initio calculations are carried out to investigate the effect of hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen terminations on the properties of the band edge and the values of the band-gap, as well as the oscillator strength of the silicon nanonets (SiNNs). The oxygen functional groups are found to effectively preserve the direct band-gap nature of the SiNNs, and even change the luminescence properties of the silicon nanowires (SiNWs) to the direct band-gap transition. The appreciable oscillator strength of the first direct transition is obtained for the oxygen terminated nanostructure. The study on the electronic states indicates that the variation of the band edge caused by the surface terminations is attributed to the change of the state compositions. These surface modifications are thought to be useful for silicon band-gap engineering in the area of optoelectronics.     

Effects of pulsed bias duty ratio on microstructure and mechanical properties of TiN/TiAlN multilayer coatings

TiN/TiAlN multilayer coatings were deposited on M2 high speed steel by a pulsed bias arc ion plating system. The effect of pulsed bias duty ratio on the microstructure, mechanical and wear properties was investigated. The amount of macroparticles reduced with the increase of the duty ratio. The surface roughness was 0.0858 μm at duty ratio of 50%. TiN/TiAlN multilayer coatings were crystallized with orientations in the (1 1 1), (2 0 0) (2 2 2) and (3 1 1) crystallographic planes and the microstructure strengthened at (1 1 1) preferred orientation. At duty ratio of 20%, the hardness of TiN/TiAlN multilayer coatings reached a maximum of 3004 HV, which was 3.2 times that of the substrate. The adhesion strength reached a maximum of 77 N at 50% duty ratio. Friction and wear analyses were carried out by pin-on-disc tester at room temperature. Compared with the substrate, all the specimens coated with TiN/TiAlN multilayer coatings exhibited better tribological properties.     

Spontaneous evolution of nanotips on silicon surface below the laser ablation threshold

A low power density single-pulse laser irradiation of the Si surface has been used for the study of formation and self-organization of silicon nanotips. A two dimensional regular array of hillock-like nanotips has been created in the central region, a disturbed array comprising crossed lines of hillocks in the near-central region, and the “V”-shaped array in the peripheral region. Therefore, the long-range organization of hillocks changes from the center toward the periphery, following the Gaussian-like laser power profile. The evolution of hillocks due to the flow instability of molten silicon is equivalent to the instability of a liquid layer falling down a vertical plate. The novel result is that the hillock-like soliton structures can be identified with the lump solitons resulting from the nonlinear hydrodynamic instability evolution.     

Estimation of the transient interfacial heat flux between substrate/melt at the initiation of magnesium solidification on aluminum substrates using the lumped capacitance method

Interfacial heat flux (IHF) between solid pure aluminum/magnesium melt and solid 413 aluminum alloy/magnesium melt couples was evaluated using lumped capacitance method, and the interface microstructures were assessed by scanning electronic microscope. The variation of maximum IHF with surface roughness for these two couples also was evaluated. The results showed that, for both solid aluminum/magnesium melt couples, with increasing the surface roughness, the maximum IHF increases at first and then starts to decrease after reaching a maximum value. In addition the measured maximum IHF for solid 413 aluminum alloy/magnesium melt couples was found to be higher than those measured for solid pure aluminum/magnesium melt couples. That seems to be because of the better wettability of 413 aluminum alloy than pure aluminum, by magnesium melt.     

Sorption of Sb(III) on carbon steel surface in presence of molybdate and selenite in citric acid medium

Sorption of Sb(III) on carbon steel surface in aqueous medium (pH 2.8) in presence of different oxyanions like molybdate and selenite has been studied. It is observed that the presence of molybdate or selenite in solution reduced Sb(III) adsorption and surface precipitation to a great extent. The solution at different stages of the adsorption experiment has been analyzed by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy technique. X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) techniques have been used to characterize the precipitate layer and the adsorbed layer. A detailed analysis of the XPS data reveals the mechanism involved in the two cases.     

Synthesis surface effects on the stress and deformation of film/substrate system

The closed-form solutions of bending curvature and stress distribution in film/substrate system with the synthesis surface effect are proposed by minimizing the total potential energy. Effects of the roughness and the residual surface stress on stress in film are addressed. Results reveal that, at a given thickness of the substrate, effects of roughness and residual surface stress on the bending curvature become significant with decreasing the film thickness. The roughing surface will enlarge the magnitudes of bending curvature and film stress. The direction change of residual surface stresses can lead to a reversed bending of film/substrate system.