Multi-dimple phenomena in TEHL point contacts

Theoretical analysis and experimental measurement of the multiple dimples in thermal elastohydrodynamic lubrication (TEHL) point contacts have been carried out. Good agreement is found between the theoretical and experimental results. A thermal multi-spike theory is proposed to explain the multi-dimple phenomena.     

On the structure formation of hydrophobed particles in the boundary layer of water and octane phases

Two-dimensional aggregation of the surface modified glass beads was carried out in the boundary layer of water and octane phases. The effect of particles' hydrophobicity was investigated on the structure of forming aggregates and the growth process. The structure of the aggregates and their growth were characterized by a density function which demonstrates the change of mean particle density as a function of aggregate size. The growth yielded fractal or nonfractal structures in the investigated systems. The fractal structure of the aggregates was observed to be dependent on restructuring processes controlled by the surface properties of the beads.The experimental results are compared with earlier findings for aggregation of hydrophobic beads in the boundary layer of water and air phases.On leave from Loránd Eötvös University, Budapest, Hungary     

Medium-size polarized basis sets for high-level-correlated calculations of molecular electric properties

Summary The first-order polarized basis sets for the use in high-level-correlated investigations of molecular electric properties have been generated for Pb, Bi, Po, and At. The performance of the standard [10.17.14.5/13.11.8.2] and extended [20.17.14.9/13.11.8.4] basis sets has been examined in nonrelativistic and quasirelativistic calculations for atoms and simple closed-shell hydrides. The relativistic contributions to electric dipole properties of those systems have been evaluated by using the recently developed quasirelativistic scheme. The predicted dipole polarizability of At is in good agreement with the results of other relativistic calculations. The calculated quasirelativistic dipole moments of BiH₃ (–0.499 a.u.), PoH₂ (–0.207 a.u.), and AtH (+0.036 a.u.) involve a significant relativistic contribution which amounts to —0.230 a.u., –0.177 a.u., and –0.097 a.u., respectively. The basis set details append this paper. They are also available as a part of the basis set library of the MOLCAS system.     

Chemical mass shifts in resonance ejection experiments in the quadrupole ion trap

Chemical mass shifts were measured in a Paul ion trap operated in the mass-selective instability scan with resonance ejection using a custom-built instrument. These shifts, which can be as much as 2%, decrease with increasing endcap electrode separation owing to changes in the higher order contributions to the electric field. They also decrease with decreasing helium buffer gas pressure. Both of these effects are analogous to those found with boundary ejection. This suggests that the previously proposed chemical mass shift mechanism based on compound-dependent collisional modification of the ejection delay produced by field faults near the endcap electrode apertures holds true also for resonance ejection. The influence of the resonance frequency on chemical mass shifts was also investigated and it is shown that at certain working points (values of the Mathieu parameter q(z) and a(z)) non-linear resonances greatly reduce the ejection delay for all ions, regardless of their chemical structures, and thus reduce the magnitude of the chemical mass shift. Energetic collisions leading to dissociation can take place at an earlier stage during the ejection process in the mass analysis scan when using resonance ejection compared with boundary ejection. This leads to even larger chemical mass shifts of fragile ions in resonance ejection. Increasing the resonance voltage amplitude can enhance this effect. The chemical mass shifts of fragile ions increase with increase in the resonance voltage amplitude, whereas negligible changes occur for structurally stable ions.     

Redox and Conformational Equilibria and Dynamics of Cytochrome c at High Electric Fields

Cytochrome c (Cyt‐c) adsorbed in the electrical double layer of the Ag electrode/electrolyte interface has been studied by stationary and time‐resolved surface‐enhanced resonance Raman spectroscopy to analyse the effect of strong electric fields on structure and reaction equilibria and dynamics of the protein. In the potential range between +0.1 and ?0.55 V (versus saturated calomel electrode), the adsorbed Cyt‐c forms a potential‐dependent reversible equilibrium between the native state B1 and a conformational state B2. The redox potentials of the bis‐histidine‐coordinated six‐coordinated low‐spin and five‐coordinated high‐spin substates of B2 were determined to be ?0.425 and ?0.385 V, respectively, whereas the additional six‐coordinated aquo‐histidine‐coordinated high‐spin substate was found to be redox‐inactive. The redox potential for the conformational state B1 was found to be the same as in solution in agreement with the structural identity of the adsorbed B1 and the native Cyt‐c. For all three redox‐active species, the formal heterogeneous electron transfer rate constants are small and of the same order of magnitude (3–13 s^?1), which implies that the rate‐limiting step is largely independent of the redox‐site structure. These findings, as well as the slow and potential‐dependent transitions between the various conformational (sub‐)states, can be rationalized in terms of an electric field‐induced increase of the activation energy for proton‐transfer steps linked to protein structural reorganisation. Further increasing the electric field strength by shifting the electrode potential above +0.1 V leads to irreversible structural changes that are attributed to an unfolding of the polypeptide chain.     

Application of relaxation periods during electrodialysis of a casein solution: Impact on anion-exchange membrane fouling

Electrodialysis (ED) is a membrane process used on a large scale. However, one of the common problems is fouling of ion-exchange membranes stacked in the cell. The use of pulsed power, consisting in applying a constant current density during a fixed time of application (T_on) followed by a pause duration (T_off), was demonstrated recently as an effective fouling mitigation method for electrodialysis. Up until now, no work has investigated the potential of electrodialysis using pulsed electric field on protein fouling. The aim of the present work was to study the influence of pulsed electric field (PEF) with a low frequency square shaped periodic signal (T_on = 10 s–T_off = 10 s, T_on = 10 s–T_off = 40 s) in comparison with dc current during electrodialysis of a casein solution at different current densities (10, 20 and 30 mA/cm²) on membrane fouling. It appeared from these results that PEF, under certain conditions of pulse, would avoid fouling on anion-exchange membranes. For 10 s–40 s pulsed electric field conditions, no fouling was observed with any density, while for 10 s–10 s PEF conditions, fouling appeared only at current density over 10 mA/cm². dc current, whatever the current density conditions, led to a fouling on the diluate side of the AEM. Furthermore, when fouling occurred, magnitude layer thickness and dry weight increased with the applied current density. The nature of the fouling was identified as 97% protein. The protein fouling would be due to the dissociation of water molecules and/or heat increase at the anion-exchange membrane interface. The relaxation time of the pulse would limit both phenomena on the membrane.     

Study of NiSi/Si Interface by Cross-Section Transmission Electron Microscopy

采用不同硅化工艺制备了NiSi薄膜并用剖面透射电镜(XTEM)对样品的NiSi/Si界面进行了研究.在未掺杂和掺杂(包括As和B)的硅衬底上通过物理溅射淀积Ni薄膜,经快速热处理过程(RTP)完成硅化反应.X射线衍射和喇曼散射谱分析表明在各种样品中都形成了NiSi.还研究了硅衬底掺杂和退火过程对NiSi/Si界面的影响.研究表明:使用一步RTP形成NiSi的硅化工艺,在未掺杂和掺As的硅衬底上,NiSi/Si界面较粗糙;而使用两步RTP形成NiSi所对应的NiSi/Si界面要比一步RTP的平坦得多.高分辨率XTEM分析表明,在所有样品中都形成了沿衬底硅〈111〉方向的轴延-NiSi薄膜中的一些特定晶面与衬底硅中的(111)面对准生长.同时讨论了轴延中的晶面失配问题.     

双面阶梯埋氧型SOI结构的耐压分析段宝兴

在单面阶梯埋氧型SOI结构的基础上,提出了一种双面阶梯埋氧SOI新结构.双面阶梯的电荷积累作用使其纵向电场突破了传统上受界面电荷为零限制的3倍关系,埋氧层的电场可以高达200V/μm;而且双面阶梯对表面电场的调制作用使其表面电场达到近乎理想的均匀分布.借助二维MEDICI数值分析软件,验证了此结构具有同时优化横向SOI基高压器件横、纵向电场,提高击穿电压的优点.     

Significant change in water contact angle of electrospray‐synthesized SiO2 films depending on their surface morphology

Amorphous SiO₂ films were deposited by means of an electrospray technique. The relation between the water contact angle (WCA) of the deposited SiO₂ films and the surface morphology is investigated. The feeding rate of the electrospray process greatly affects the morphology of the synthesized SiO₂ films. There is also a significant change in the WCA on the surface of the films: the rougher the surface, the greater the WCA. A model based on the Cassie–Baxter formulation is used to explain the change observed in the WCA on the SiO₂ films. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.