Influence of Additive Gas on Electrical and Optical Characteristics of Non-equilibrium Atmospheric Pressure Argon Plasma Jet

Electrical and optical properties of an argon plasma jet were characterized. In particular, effects of an additive gas, namely nitrogen or oxygen, on these properties were studied in detail. The plasma jet was found to be of a glow-like discharge, which scarcely changed upon the injection of an additive gas, either directly or through a glass capillary. Optical emission spectroscopy characterization revealed that excited argon atoms were the predominant active species in this plasma jet. Metastable argon atoms were highly quenched, and N2（C3yIu） became the main energy carrier following nitrogen injection. When oxygen was added to the afterglow zone through a glass capillary, no significant quenching effect was observed and the number of oxygen atoms decreased with the increase in oxygen concentration. Finally, to demonstrate an application of this plasma jet, a high-density polyethylene surface was treated with argon, argon/nitrogen, and argon/oxygen plasmas.

Reaction pathway and kinetics of CdO nanoparticles prepared from CdCO_3 precursor using thermal decomposition method

The non-isothermal kinetics of CdO nanoparticles prepared from CdCO3 precursor using thermal decomposition method was investigated. A model-fitting Malek approach and a model-free advanced isoconversional method of Vyazovkin were applied to the analysis of the DSC and TGA data. The results showed that CdO nanoparticles prepared from CdCO3 followed an autocatalytic reaction. Sestak–Berggren model could favorably describe the studied reaction process. Moreover, the apparent activation energy of CdCO3 decomposition was calculated to be (119.19±9.97) kJ/mol and the explicit rate equation form of CdCO3 decomposition was established.

Feasibility of wear reduction for soft nanostructured thin film through enhanced elastic recoverability and contact stress relief

This work shows that a soft,thin film comprising randomly aligned carbon nanotubes(CNTs)can reduce surface wear more effectively than a homogeneous thin film because of enhanced elastic recoverability and contact stress relief originating from its mesh structure.To investigate the wear characteristics of the mesh structure compared to those of the homogeneous thin film,multi-walled CNTs(MWCNTs)and diamond-like carbon(DLC)thin films were prepared to conduct nanoscale tribological experiments using the atomic force microscopy(AFM).The MWCNT thin film showed unmeasurably low wear compared with the DLC thin film under a certain range of normal load.To demonstrate the wear reduction mechanism of the MWCNT thin film,its indentation and frictional behaviors were assessed.The indentation behavior of the MWCNT thin film revealed repetitive elastic deformation with a wide strain range and a significantly lower elastic modulus than that of the DLC thin film.The permanent deformation of the MWCNT thin film was observed through frictional experiments under relatively high normal load conditions.These results are expected to provide insights into the design of highly wear-resistant surfaces using nanostructures.

High-Density Polyethylene(HDPE) Surface Treatment Using an RF Capacitive Atmospheric Pressure Cold Ar Plasma Jet

In this study,a high-density polyethylene（HDPE,5-mm-thick,0.95 g/cm3） surface was treated using an RF capacitive atmospheric pressure cold Ar plasma jet.By using this Ar plasma jet,a hydrophilic HDPE surface was formed during the plasma treatment.In particular, the effects of an additive gas（N;or O2） on the HDPE surface treatment were investigated in detail.It was shown that the addition of N2 or O2 gas had an important influence on the HDPE surface treatment.Compared to pure Ar plasma treatment,a lower value of water contact angle （WCA） was obtained when a trace of N2 or O2 gas was added.It was also found that besides the quantities of active species in the plasma jet,the treatment temperature played an important role in the HDPE surface treatment.This is because surface molecular motion is not negligible when the treatment temperature is close to the melting point of the polymer.