This study investigated the effect of plastic deformation on anodic dissolution in electrochemical migration (ECM) through the growth of deposits. The morphology of deposits synthesized by ECM was analyzed using scanning electron microscopy, where sponge-shaped deposits were observed on the cathode electrode. The mechanism of anodic dissolution was examined by experimentally measuring the variation in the mass of electrodes. The increase and saturation of anodic dissolution in ECM with plastic deformation were observed and were empirically formulated in terms of the change in activation energy. Thus, plastic deformation is proposed as a promising parameter that contributes to controlling ECM.

Aluminum-doped zinc oxide films were prepared by atomic layer deposition using diethylzinc, trimethylaluminum, and water. High-purity water was used with low vacuum. The effect of growth temperature on characteristics of the films was investigated. The crystallinity was improved as growth temperature was increased from 180 to 235 °C, with the grain sizes increasing from 32.830 to 47.020 nm. The films possessed high transparency with a 95% transmission window blue shifted with growth temperature. This shift was seen in the energy-band gaps which changed from 3.46 to 3.68 eV, leading to a decreased resistivity from 1.52 × 10−5 to 1.28 × 10−5 Ω cm.

Composition-dependent microstructure and mechanical properties of ultrafine-grained Al and Al–Mg films fabricated by DC magnetron sputtering with the novel micro-combinatorial technique were studied by transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and nanoindentation. It was revealed that these films have extremely high strength, enabling their potential application as protecting layers. Besides the possible practical applications, the results of the present work also confirm the validity of the modified Hall–Petch relationship for the uniform description of the strength of face-centered cubic metals and solid solution having ultrafine-grain size.

[6,6]-Phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl esters (PCBM) have emerged in recent years as important building blocks for photovoltaic devices. However, the potential of PCBM itself as a photocatalyst has not been reviewed. Here, we demonstrate PCBM nanoparticles (NPs) fabricated by the reprecipitation method as suitable photocatalysts for an effective visible-light-driven photocatalytic degradation for organic dyes. An enhanced catalytic performance of PCBM can be achieved by a simple annealing process. The present PCBM NPs outperform the state-of-the-art P25 TiO2 and therefore highlights its potential as promising small molecule organic semiconductor photocatalysts with high photocatalytic activity and good long-term stability.

Non-conventional uranium extraction sources are not the most used mainly due to high extraction costs associated with low concentrations and chemical forms that require extra purification processes. Therefore, efforts should focus on cheaper processes and develop more effective extraction materials. In this investigation, ionic-imprinted polymers were synthesized for the selective extraction of uranyl ions in aqueous solution, using polyesters of 2,5-bis((allyloxy)carbonyl)terephthalic acid and 4,6-bis((allyloxy)carbonyl)isophthalic acid as base materials and polymerized by gamma radiation. The extraction capacity (Q) of the resins was evaluated by varying parameters such as pH, temperature, extraction time, and ionic strength.

A simple and facile stereolithography 3D printing technique was utilized to fabricate piezoelectric photopolymer-based polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) blends. Different process variables, such as solvent (N,N-dimethylformamide, DMF) to PVDF ratio and PVDF solution to photopolymer resin (PR) ratio, were engineered to enhance the dispersion of the PVDF into the PR so as to achieve the maximum piezoelectric coupling coefficient. Our results demonstrate that a ratio of 1:10 (PVDF:DMF) and 2 wt%-PVDF/PR was optimal for the best dissolution of the PVDF, 3D printability, and piezoelectric properties. Under these conditions, the blend generated ±0.121 nA under 80 N dynamic loading excitation. We believe that the findings of this work would promote many further studies on the mass production of flexible piezoelectric polymer blends with higher quality finished surface and design flexibility.

Ferroelectric single-crystal-architecture-in-glass is a new class of metamaterials that would enable active integrated optics if the ferroelectric behavior is preserved within the confines of glass. We demonstrate using lithium niobate crystals fabricated in lithium niobosilicate glass by femtosecond laser irradiation that not only such behavior is preserved, the ferroelectric domains can be engineered with a DC bias. A piezoresponse force microscope is used to characterize the piezoelectric and ferroelectric behavior. The piezoresponse correlates with the orientation of the crystal lattice as expected for unconfined crystal, and a complex micro- and nano-scale ferroelectric domain structure of the as-grown crystals is revealed.

LM-8 is a murine osteosarcoma cell line associated with bone tumor in young adult and children. It contains the nuclear factor-κB which make this cell high resistance to irradiation thus limiting its treatment only to chemotherapy and surgery which has become a source of concerned for cancer therapy. In addressing this problem, we herein report the synthesis of CdTe/CdSe core/shell quantum dots (QDs) via a simple, reproducible method and its cytotoxic action against the LM-8 cell line. The cell viability study shows that the as-synthesized QDs are toxic to the LM-8 cell line in a concentration- and time-dependent manner.

CdS/ZnS core shell quantum dots (QDs) were synthesized and functionalized by methionine and characterized by standard techniques. The prior QD-based phytotoxicity assay was helpful to find out the maximum tolerant level of the plant cells. The successful transport and phytotoxic mechanism of QDs were elaborated in detail. Methionine functionalities on the QDs were helpful in specific binding of QDs with the nucleus of stomata in plant cells. Target specific interaction with the nucleus of stomata cells was a novel breakthrough that can be used in many biologic applications.

Nickel thin films were prepared by electroless plating in a foam of electrolyte generated by bubbling nitrogen into a hypophosphite-based electroless plating solution added with surfactants of sulfuric acid monododecyl ester sodium salt and ammonium pentadecafluorooctanoate (APFO). Ferroxyl test revealed that the films deposited in foam had substantially higher corrosion resistance than those deposited in liquid. Even with a film thickness of only 1.5 µm, the fraction of corroded area was as small as 0.002% when the film was deposited in the foam. The notable improvement in the corrosion resistance was made possible by adding APFO as the surfactant.

The finite element simulations show that non-equibiaxial residual stresses (RS) can shift the load–depth curve from the unstressed curve and cause elliptical remnant indentation in spherical indentation. Thus the relative load change between stressed and unstressed samples and the asymmetry of elliptical remnant indentation were employed as characteristic parameters to evaluate the magnitude and directionality of RS. Through theoretical and numerical analysis, the effects of RS on indentation load and remnant impression as well as the affect mechanism were systematically discussed. Finally, two equations which could provide foundations for establishing spherical indentation method to evaluate non-equibiaxial RS were obtained.

Clathrates based on Si and Ge have very low lattice thermal conductivity (~1 W/m-K). This value can potentially be further reduced by alloying and nano-structuring. In this work, the thermal conductivity of Si and Ge clathrates alloy have been investigated using model based on the relaxation time approximation. By including alloy scattering, we find that the lattice thermal conductivity of Ba8Cu6Si40 is reduced by 50% from 1.64 to 0.80 W/m-K in Ba8Cu6Si40(1−x)Ge40x alloy. Further ~90% reduction of the thermal conductivity is possible for nanowire clathrate alloys. The ultra-low thermal conductivity in the nanowire will be very suitable for the thermoelectric application.

Based on density functional theory, we recently suggested that metastable α-WB2 is a promising candidate combining very high hardness with high toughness. These calculations further suggested that the addition of Tantalum supports the crystallization of α-structured W1−xTaxB2−z, with only minor reduction in toughness. Thus, various Ta containing WB2-based coatings have been synthesized using physical vapor deposition. With increasing Ta content, the hardness increases from ~41 GPa (WB2) to ~45 GPa (W0.74Ta0.26B2). In situ micromechanical cantilever bending tests exhibit fracture toughness KIC values of 3.7 to 3.0 MPa√m for increasing Ta content (single-phased up to 26 at.% Ta).

We developed a microelectromechanical-system optical interferometer based on an elastomer nanosheet using a polystyrene-polybutadiene-polystyrene (SBS) triblock copolymer for a suspended membrane as a way to improve the stress sensitivity for surface stress detection. The elastomeric SBS nanosheet provides a low Young's modulus of 28 ± 11 MPa, a large elastic strain of 24 ± 12%, and high adhesiveness, of which the surface charge and mechanical property are tunable by layer-by-layer (LbL) deposition of polysaccharides. A freestanding SBS nanosheet can be formed above a microcavity using a dry transfer technique without applying vacuum or high-temperature processes. The maximum deflection associated with molecular adsorption increased by sevenfold compared with a parylene-C-based optical interferometric transducer.

We report on the design of polycaprolactone (PCL)-TiO2-collagenase mesh scaffolds by Forcespinning technique. The dependence of the degree of crystallinity in PCL caused by the incorporation of dopants (TiO2-collagenase) and the reduction of dimensionality (1D), during the nanofiber formation, were investigated by x-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry. The tensile strength of the mesh scaffolds (randomly oriented) was determined using uniaxial testing equipment. The permeability was measured by contact angle obtaining an improvement in the hydrophobicity for the PCL-TiO2-collagenase mesh scaffolds. The results reported in this research are of great relevance for tissue engineering applications.