Surface tension and density of liquid Sn-Ag alloys

The surface tension and density measurements for Sn-Ag alloys were carried out with the sessile drop method. Seven different compositions were investigated in the range from 0.011 to 0.5 mole fraction of Ag, in a broad range of temperature. With increasing concentrations of Ag, both density and the surface tension are increased. With increasing temperature the density decreases for all of the alloys. A decrease of the surface tension is observed for most of the composition except for the alloy of 0.5 mole fractions of Ag. The obtained results are compared with existing literature data and Butler model calculations and relatively good agreement is observed.     

Preparation of Ga-doped ZnO films by pulsed dc magnetron sputtering with cylindrical rotating target for thin film solar cell applications

Applicability of Ga-doped ZnO (GZO) films for thin film solar cells (TFSCs) was investigated by preparing GZO films via pulsed dc magnetron sputtering (PDMS) with rotating target. The GZO films showed improved crystallinity and increasing degree of Ga doping with increasing thickness to a limit of 1000 nm. The films also fulfilled requirements for the transparent electrodes of TFSCs in terms of electrical and optical properties. Moreover, the films exhibited good texturing potential based on etching studies with diluted HCl, which yielded an improved light trapping capability without significant degradation in electrical propreties. It is therefore suggested that the surface-textured GZO films prepared via PDMS and etching are promising candidates for indium-free transparent electrodes for TFSCs.     

Grafting of bifunctional phosphonic and carboxylic acids on Phynox: Impact of induction heating

Phynox, a cobalt-chromium alloy, exhibits interesting mechanical properties making it a valuable material for a number of applications. However, its applications (especially biomedical ones) often require specific surface properties that can be imparted via suitable surface functionalizations. Based on Faraday's law of induction, induction heating is a widely used method to heat metallic substrates directly and contactless. The aim of this work is to compare the influence of induction heating and a conventional heating method on the functionalization of Phynox surfaces with bifunctional (6-phosphonohexanoic and 11-phosphoundecanoic acids) monolayers in order to create a platform for a large variety of post-grafting chemical reactions, e.g. with alcohols and amines, to modify and control the surface properties. In a first part, we assess the influence of the heating method on the interaction between the two terminal moieties of the 6-phosphonohexanoic and 11-phosphoundecanoic acids and the Phynox surface by studying the grafting of n-dodecylphosphonic acid and n-dodecanoic acid separately. The suitability of such bifunctional molecules for post-grafting chemical reactions has then been assessed by studying the post-grafting of a fluorinated alcohol by the Steglich esterification reaction between the carboxylic end of the grafted bifunctional molecules and the alcohol function of the post-grafted molecule. It has been shown that induction heating can lead to a much more selective adsorption of bifunctional molecules on the surface of Phynox, leaving a higher amount of free carboxylic acid functions to react during the second modification step.     

Surface characterization of anodized zirconium for biomedical applications

Mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of zirconium make this material suitable for biomedical implants. Its good in vivo performance is mainly due to the presence of a protective oxide layer that minimizes corrosion rate, diminishes the amount of metallic ions released to the biological media and facilitates the osseointegration process.Since the implant surface is the region in contact with living tissues, the characteristics of the surface film are of great interest. Surface modification is a route to enhance both biocompatibility and corrosion resistance of permanent implant materials. Anodizing is presented as an interesting process to modify metal surfaces with good reproducibility and independence of the geometry.In this work the surface of zirconium before and after anodizing in 1 mol/L phosphoric acid solution at a fixed potential between 3 and 30 V, was characterized by means of several surface techniques.It was found that during anodization the surface oxide grows with an inhomogeneous coverage on zirconium surface, modifying the topography. The incorporation of P from the electrolyte to the surface oxide during the anodizing process changes the surface chemistry. After 30 days of immersion in Simulated Body Fluid (SBF) solution, Ca-P rich compounds were present on anodized zirconium.     

Surface potential driven dissolution phenomena of [0 0 0 1]-oriented ZnO nanorods grown from ZnO and Pt seed layers

Highly oriented ZnO nanorods are synthesized hydrothermally on ZnO and Pt seed layers, and they are dissolved in KOH solution. The rods grown on ZnO seed layer show uniform dissolution, but those grown on Pt seed layer are rod-selectively dissolved. The ZnO nanorods from both seed layers show the same crystalline structure through XRD and Raman spectrometer data. However, the surface potential analysis reveals big difference for ZnO and Pt seed cases. The surface potential distribution is very uniform for the ZnO seed case, but it is much fluctuated on the Pt seed case. It suggests that the rod-selective dissolution phenomena on Pt seed case are likely due to the surface energy difference.     

Co removal and phase transformations during high power diode laser irradiation of cemented carbide

The use of a continuous wave-high power diode laser for removing surface Co-binder from Co-cemented tungsten carbide (WC-Co (5.8 wt%.)) hardmetal slabs was investigated. Combined scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analyses were performed in order to study the phase transformations and micro-structural modifications of the WC-Co substrates occurring during and after laser irradiation. The micro-structure of the WC-Co progressively transforms as energy density increased, exhibiting stronger removal of Co and WC grain growth. At very high energy density, local melting of the WC grains with the formation of big agglomerates of interlaced grains is observed, and the crystalline structure of the irradiated substrate shows the presence of a brittle ternary eutectic phase of W, Co and C (often referred to as the η-phase). The latter can be detrimental to the mechanical properties of WC-Co. Therefore, the proper adjustment of the laser processing parameters plays a crucial role in surface treatments of WC-Co substrates prior to post-processing like diamond deposition.     

Surface tension of liquid Cu-Ti binary alloys measured by electromagnetic levitation and thermodynamic modelling

The surface tension of liquid Cu-Ti alloys has been measured by using the containerless technique of electromagnetic levitation and theoretically calculated in the framework of the compound formation model. Measurements have been carried out on alloys covering the entire range of composition and over the temperature range 1275-2050 K. For all investigated alloys the surface tension can be described by a linear function of the temperature with negative slope.Due to the presence of different intermetallic compounds in the solid state the surface properties of liquid Cu-Ti alloys are satisfactory described by the compound formation model.     

Ultrasound velocimetry of ferrofluid spin-up flow measurements using a spherical coil assembly to impose a uniform rotating magnetic field

Ferrofluid spin-up flow is studied within a sphere subjected to a uniform rotating magnetic field from two surrounding spherical coils carrying sinusoidally varying currents at right angles and 90° phase difference. Ultrasound velocimetry measurements in a full sphere of ferrofluid shows no measureable flow. There is significant bulk flow in a partially filled sphere (1-14 mm/s) of ferrofluid or a finite height cylinder of ferrofluid with no cover (1-4 mm/s) placed in the spherical coil apparatus. The flow is due to free surface effects and the non-uniform magnetic field associated with the shape demagnetizing effects. Flow is also observed in the fully filled ferrofluid sphere (1-20 mm/s) when the field is made non-uniform by adding a permanent magnet or a DC or AC excited small solenoidal coil. This confirms that a non-uniform magnetic field or a non-uniform distribution of magnetization due to a non-uniform magnetic field are causes of spin-up flow in ferrofluids with no free surface, while tangential magnetic surface stress contributes to flow in the presence of a free surface.Recent work has fitted velocity flow measurements of ferrofluid filled finite height cylinders with no free surface, subjected to uniform rotating magnetic fields, neglecting the container shape effects which cause non-uniform demagnetizing fields, and resulting in much larger non-physical effective values of spin viscosity η′∼10⁻⁸−10⁻¹² N s than those obtained from theoretical spin diffusion analysis where η′≤10⁻¹⁸ N s. COMSOL Multiphysics finite element computer simulations of spherical geometry in a uniform rotating magnetic field using non-physically large experimental fit values of spin viscosity η′∼10⁻⁸−10⁻¹² N s with a zero spin-velocity boundary condition at the outer wall predicts measureable flow, while simulations setting spin viscosity to zero (η′=0) results in negligible flow, in agreement with the ultrasound velocimetry measurements. COMSOL simulations also confirm that a non-uniform rotating magnetic field or a uniform rotating magnetic field with a non-uniform distribution of magnetization due to an external magnet or a current carrying coil can drive a measureable flow in an infinitely long ferrofluid cylinder with zero spin viscosity (η′=0).     

基于HJ-1-CCD数据的地表反射率反演与验证

环境一号卫星OCD相机(HJ-1-CCD)30m的空间分辨率在地物识别中具有潜在优势,然而由于缺少短波红外通道,利用暗像元法反演地表反射率较为困难.基于北京与珠三角地区的地物光谱试验,获得暗像元的植被指数与红、蓝波段反射率比值,构建基于辐射传输模型的大气校正算法.为了验证算法精度,将北京地区卫星反演值与实测的草坪、水体...     

表面修饰碳纳米管/二氧化钛复合光催化剂制备及催化活性研究

采用溶胶-凝胶法在聚乙烯吡咯烷酮(PVP)修饰的碳纳米管表面均匀沉积纳米级二氧化钛粒子制得复合光催化剂。采用透射电子显微镜(TEM)、X射线衍射仪(XRD)、紫外-可见吸收光谱仪(UV-Vis)和X射线光电子能谱仪(XPS)等手段对复合光催化剂进行表征。结果表明,二氧化钛粒子是呈球形、团聚,随机沉积在未修饰碳纳米管任意表面,甚至部分碳纳米管表面是完全裸露的。经PVP修饰后的碳纳米管,二氧化钛纳米粒子均匀沉积在碳纳米管表面,二氧化钛为纯锐钛矿晶体结构,没有金红石和板钛矿相。表面修饰碳纳米管/二氧化钛复合光催化剂在紫外光照射下降解亚甲基蓝,相比纯的二氧化钛和碳纳米管/二氧化钛复合光催化剂,具有非常高的催化活性。