Hardness Measurement and Evaluation of Thin Film on Material Surface

A method for hardness measurement and evaluation of thin films on the material surface was proposed. Firstly, it is studied how to obtain the force indentation response with a finite element method when the indentation is less than 100 nanometers, in which current nanoindentation experiments have not reliable accuracy. The whole hardness indentation curve and fitted equation were obtained. At last, a formula to predict the hardness of the thin film on the material surface was derived and favorably compared with experiments.

Optical properties of titanium oxide films obtained by cathodic arc plasma deposition

Structural and optical properties of nanometric titanium oxide（TixOy） films obtained by cathodic arc plasma deposition were investigated. Phase analysis by x-ray diffraction and Fouriertransform infrared spectroscopy showed the presence of anatase, rutile, Ti_2O_3, Ti_4O_7 and amorphous phases. Scanning electron microscopy images showed well-developed surface morphology with nano-patterns. Spectroscopic ellipsometry revealed film thicknesses of 53 and50 nm, variable refractive indices dependent on the light wavelength and close to zero extinction coefficients for wavelengths higher than 500 nm. On the basis of ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy data and using the Tauc equation, band gap values for direct and indirect electron transitions were determined.

A Novel Diamine,4'-Phenyiphenyi 4-(3",5"-Diaminobenzoyioxy)-benzoate and Longer Side-chain Polyimide

This is a part of our systematic research work on polyimides with mesogenic unit side chain. In this study, a new 4＇-phenylpbenyl 4-（3＂,5＂-diaminobenzoyloxy）benzoate and polyimide were synthesized, and characterized by FTIR, ^1H-NMR, inherent viscosity, mechanical properties, and solubility measurements. The diamine composed with mesogenic unit aryl ester groups and bipbenyl group with longer L/D ratio, was synthesized by two key steps. Firstly, the hydroxy group of 4-hydroxybenzoic acid was protected by acetoxy group for avoiding self- polymerization of 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, and then selectively hydrolyzed after esterification of carboxyl. Secondly, a selective catalysis hydrogenation was adopted to prevent the aryl ester from deoxidation. Based on this diamine, a novel polyimide was prepared by polycondensation of 4＇-phenylphenyl 4-（3＂, 5＂-diaminobenzoyloxy）benzoate and 4-aminophenyl ether（ODA） with 4, 4＇-oxydiphthalic anhydride（ODPA） in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone （NMP）. The resulting polyimide with longer side chain showed better solubility and more regular structure. Its inherent viscosity is lower than that without side chains, but its modulus and strength not only maintained, even improved.

Thin Films Fabricated by Pulsed Laser Deposition for Electrocatalysis

Advances in energy conversion and storage technologies,such as water electrolyzers,rechargeable metal-air batteries,and fuel cells,have enabled a renewable and sustainable future.The efficiency and effectiveness of these technologies largely relies on the physicochemical properties of the functional materials used,specifically electrocatalysts.Pulsed laser deposition(PLD)is a powerful technique for the synthesis of thin film materials,offering a unique platform for understanding electrochemical reaction mechanisms and searching for low-cost and high-performance electrocatalysts.In this mini-review,we present the latest studies in which thin film materials(mainly focused on perovskite oxide thin films)via PLD have been actively utilized in the field of electrocatalysis.The fundamentals and advantages of PLD in the synthesis of thin films are discussed first.Then,emerging types of thin films associated with electrochemical applications are presented.Special emphasis is placed on material design methods to reveal the reaction mechanisms and establish the structure–performance relationships by understanding structural variations in precatalysts and surface reconstruction under reaction conditions.Finally,we discuss remaining challenges and future perspectives.

Aligned carbon nanostructures based 3D electrodes for energy storage

Electrochemical energy storage systems with high specific energy and power as well as long cyclic stability attract increasing attention in new energy technologies. The principles for rational design of electrodes are discussed to reduce the activation, concentration, and resistance overpotentials and improve the active ma- terial efficiency in order to simultaneously achieve high specific energy and power. Three dimensional （3D） nanocomposites are currently considered as promising electrode materials due to their large surface area, reduced electronic and ionic diffusion distances, and synergistic effects. This paper reviews the most recent progress on the synthesis and application of 3D thin film nanoelectrode arrays based on aligned carbon nan- otubes （ACNTs） directly grown on metal foils for energy storages and special attentions are paid on our own representative works. These novel 3D nanoelectrode arrays on metal foil exhibit improved electrochemical performances in terms of specific energy, specific power and cyclic stability due to their unique structures. In this active materials coated ACNTs over conductive substrate structures, each component is tailored to address a different demand. The electrochemical active material is used to store energy, while the ACNTs are employed to provide a large surface area to support the active material and nanocable arrays to facilitate the electron transport. The thin film of active materials can not only reduce ion transport resistance by shorten- ing the diffusion length but also make the film elastic enough to tolerate significant volume changes during charge and discharge cycles. The conductive substrate is used as the current collector and the direct contact of the ACNT arrays with the substrate reduces significantly the contact resistance. The principles obtained from ACNT based electrodes are extended to aligned graphene based electrodes. Similar improvements have been achieved which confirms the reliability of the principles obtained. In addition, we also discuss and view the ongoing trends in development of aligned carbon nanostructures based electrodes for energy storage.

Preparation of Ag@CuFe_(2)O_(4)@TiO_(2) nanocomposite films and its performance of photoelectrochemical cathodic protection

A Ag@CuFe_(2)O_(4)@TiO_(2) nanocomposite film with high performance of photogenerated cathodic protection was prepared by hydrothermal and photoreduction methods.The results showed that when the CuFe_(2)O_(4) hydrothermal reaction time was 6 h and the AgNO_(3) concentration was 0.1 M,the Ag@CuFe_(2)O_(4)@TiO_(2) nanocomposite material performed the best cathodic protection capability for 304 stainless steel(304SS).In this case,the protective potential achieved-930 mV(versus SCE)associated with the photocurrent density of 475μA/cm^(2),which was 14.8 times that of pure TiO_(2) nanowires.In the dark,the nanocomposite provided cathodic protection of up to 485 mV for 304SS.Due to the heterogeneous junctions at the two interfaces among the three kinds of nanocomposite materials,the build-in electric field was fabricated,which promoted the separation efficiency of photogenerated electrons and holes and effectively improved the photochemical cathodic protection of 304SS.

Scaling relationships of elastic-perfectly plastic film/coating materials from small scale sharp indentation

The scaling relationships of elastic-perfectly plastic film/coating materials during sharp indentation have been obtained using dimensional analysis and finite-element modeling. Besides the bulk substrate materials, a wide range of film/coating materials with different ratios in term of the Young’s modulus and yield strength were examined, namely different values of Ef/Esand Yf/Es.Based on these scaling relationships, the substrate effects on indentation response and deformed surface profile of residual imprint are given. Furthermore, the scaling relationship among the work of indentation, reduced elastic modulus and hardness has been found. It is found that the ratio of the indentation hardness to measurement of substrate elastic modulus could be used to characterize the wear resistance of film/coating materials. In addition, a novel method to acquire the intrinsic hardness and elastic modulus of film/coating materials is proposed combined with the well-known 10% critical indentation depth rule, which avoids the error caused by estimating the contact area. This work could be contributed for characterizing the mechanical properties of film/coating materials at micro-and nanoscale.

Deterioration Process of the Hybrid Films during Wear Test--Polyacrylate Emulsion Modified by Silica Particles

The hybrid materials are widely used in various fields for excellent performance. However, there are few researches studying their failure process. In order to prepare the hybrid materials with better performance, the failure process needs to be well studied. Two kinds of silica/polyacrylate films are successfully prepared to study the effect of organic-inorganic interaction on performance. The average diameter of silica particles is measured to be around 342 nm by scanning electron microscope（SEM）. Wear test demonstrates the hybrid film, which is obtained by grafting polyacrylate onto silica particles, possesses more excellent properties than the one filled directly with silica particles. The stronger interaction between organic and inorganic components leads to a better distribution of inorganic particles within the polymer matrix. In this work, a model is presented to illustrate the deterioration process of the hybrid films, which allows us to further understand the hybrid materials.

Thermoacoustic theory of graphene films considering heat transfer of substrate materials

Based on thermoacoustic theory, a coupled thermal-mechanical model for graphene films is established, and the analytical solutions for thermal-acoustic radiation from a graphene thin film are obtained. The sound pressure of the graphene film generator on different substrates is measured, and the measurement data is compared with the theoretical results. The frequency response from the experimental results is consistent with the theoretical ones, while the measured values are slightly lower than the theoretical ones. Therefore, the accuracy of the proposed theoretical model is verified. It is shown that thermal-acoustic radiation from a graphene thin film reveals a wide frequency response. The sound pressure level increases with the frequency in the low frequency range, while the sound pressure varies smoothly with frequency in the high frequency range. Thus it can be used as excellent thermal generator. When the thermal effusivity of the substrate is smaller, then the sound pressure of grapheme films will be higher. Furthermore, the sound pressure decreases with the increase of heat capacity per unit area of grapheme films. Results will contribute to the mechanism of graphene films generator and its applications in the design of loudspeaker and other related areas.

Scalable gas-phase processes to create nanostructured particles

The properties of nanoparticles are often different from those of larger grains of the same solid material because of their very large specific surface area. This enables many novel applications, but properties such as agglomeration can also hinder their potential use. By creating nanostructured particles one can take optimum benefit from the desired properties while minimizing the adverse effects. We aim at developing high-precision routes for scalable production of nanostructured particles. Two gas-phase synthesis routes are explored. The first one - covering nanoparticles with a continuous layer - is carried out using atomic layer deposition in a fluidized bed. Through fluidization, the full surface area of the nanoparticles becomes available. With this process, particles can be coated with an ultra-thin film of constant and well-tunable thickness. For the second route - attaching nanoparticles to larger particles - a novel approach using electrostatic forces is demonstrated. The micron-sized particles are charged with one polarity using tribocharging. Using electrospraying, a spray of charged nanoparticles with opposite polarity is generated. Their charge prevents agglomeration, while it enhances efficient deposition at the surface of the host particle. While the proposed processes offer good potential for scale-up, further work is needed to realize large-scale processes.