Ag surface plasmon enhanced double-layer antireflection coatings for GaAs solar cells

Surface plasmon enhanced antireflection coatings for GaAs solar cells have been designed theoretically. The reflectance of double-layer antireflection coatings (ARCs) with different suspensions of Ag particles is calculated as a function of the wavelength according to the optical interference matrix and the Mie theory. The mean dielectric concept was adopted in the simulations. A significant reduction of reflectance in the spectral region from 300 to 400 nm was found to be beneficial for the design of ARCs. A new SiO_2/Ag-ZnS double-layer coating with better antireflection ability can be achieved if the particle volume fraction in ZnS is 1%-2%.

Investigation on Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Pb and Cd fractions in the natural surface coatings sampled and surficial sediments collected in the Songhua River, China

Natural surface coatings sampled (NSCSs) from the surface of shingles and surficial sediments (SSs) in the Songhua River, China were employed to investigate the similarities and difference in fractions of heavy metals (Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Pb, and Cd) between NSCSs and SSs using the modified sequential extraction procedure (MSEP). The results show that the differences between NSCSs and SSs in Fe fractions were insignificant and Fe was dominantly present as residual phase (76.22% for NSCSs and 80.88% for SSs) and Fe-oxides phase (20.33% for NSCSs and 16.15% for SSs). Significant variation of Mn distribution patterns between NSCSs and SSs was observed with Mn in NSCSs mainly present in Mn-oxides phase (48.27%) and that in SSs present as residual phase (45.44%). Zn, Cu, Pb and Cd were found dominantly in residual fractions (>48%), and next in solid oxides/hydroxides for Zn, Pb and Cd and in easily oxidizable solids/compounds form for Cu, respectively. The heavy metal distribution pattern implied that Fe/Mn oxides both in NSCSs and SSs were more important sinks for binding and adsorption of Zn, Pb and Cd than organic matter (OM), and inversely, higher affinity of Cu to OM than Fe/Mn oxides in NSCSs and SSs was obtained. Meanwhile, it was found that the distributions of heavy metals in NSCSs and SSs were similar to each other and the pseudo-total concentrations of Zn, Cu, Pb and Cd in NSCSs were greater than those in SSs, highlighting the more importance for NSCSs than SSs in controlling behaviours of heavy metals in aquatic environments.

Fast plasma sintering deposition of nano-structured silicon carbide coatings

Fast plasma sintering deposition of SiC nano-structured coatings was achieved using a specially designed non-transferred dc plasma torch operated at reduced pressure. Employing the Taguchi method, the deposition parameters were optimized and verified. With the optimized combination of deposition parameters, homogeneous SiC coatings were deposited on relatively large area substrates of Φ50 mm and 50×50 mm with a deposition rate as high as 20 μm/min. Ablation test showed that such coatings can be used as oxidation resistance coatings in high temperature oxidizing environment.

Effects of reaction conditions on the selective oxidation of propane to acrylic acid on Mo-V-Te-Nb oxides

An effective Mo-1 V(0.3)Te(0.23)Nb(0.12)Ox catalysts for the selective oxidation of propane to acrylic acid was successfully prepared by using rotavap method. The catalyst was characterized by XRD and shown to contain (V0.07Mo0.93)(5)O-14, (Nb0.09Mo0.91)O-2.8,3MoO(2)(.)Nb(2)O(5), Mo5TeO16 and/or TeMo4O13, Te4Nb2O13 and a new TeMO (TeVMoO or TeVNbMoO; M = Mo, V and Nb) crystalline phase as the major phase. Regardless of the intrinsic catalytic characteristics of the catalyst, the external reaction conditions would have strong effects on the catalytic performance for propane oxidation. So in this paper, the effects of reaction conditions were investigated and discussed, including temperature, space velocity, V(air)/V(C3H8) ratio and V(steam)/V(C3H8) ratio. A stability test was also carried out on Mo1V0.3Te0.23Nb0.12Ox catalyst. The experimental run was performed during 100 h under the optimized reaction conditions. During the 100 h of operation, propane conversion and acrylic acid selectivity remained at about 59 and 64%, respectively. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Influence of the deposition energy on the composition and thermal cycling behavior of La-2(Zr0.7Ce0.3)(2)O-7 coatings

Lanthanum-zirconium-cerium composite oxide (La-2(Zr0.7Ce0.3)(2)O-7, LZ7C3) coatings were prepared under different conditions by electron beam-physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD). The composition, crystal structure, surface and cross-sectional morphologies, cyclic oxidation behavior of these coatings were studied. Elemental analysis indicates that the coating composition has partially deviated from the stoichiometry of the ingot, and the existence of excess La2O3 is also observed.

Grafting acrylic acid onto polypropylene by reactive extrusion with pre-irradiated PP as initiator

In this paper, the modification of polypropylene (PP) with acrylic acid (AA) by reactive extrusion using pre-irradiated PP (rPP) as initiator was investigated. It was found the relatively high graft degree (Gd) and slight degradation of modified PP was obtained when 20 wt% rPP was used. This result can be explained in terms of effective concentration of free radicals.

Preparation and Characterization of Interpenetration Polymer Network Films Based on Poly(vinyl alcohol) and Poly(acrylic acid) for Drug Delivery

A series of full interpenetrating polymer network (full-IPN) films of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA)/poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) were prepared by radical solution polymerization and sequential IPN technology. Attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, swelling properties, mechanical properties, morphology, and glass transition temperature of the films were investigated. FTIR spectra analysis showed that new interaction hydrogen bonds between PVA and PAA were formed. Swelling property of the films in distilled water and different pH buffer solution was studied. Swelling ratio increased with increasing PAA content of IPN films in all media, and swelling ratio decreased with increasing PVA crosslink degree. Tensile strength and elongation at break related not only to the constitution of IPNs but also to the swelling ratio of IPNs.

Phase Behavior and self-assembly of poly[N-vinylformamide-co-(acrylic acid)] copolymers under highly acidic conditions

Copolymers of N-vinylformamide and acrylic acid were synthesized by conventional aqueous free-radical polymerization. The phase behavior of the copolymer solutions was investigated through the addition of hydrochloric acid and the variation of the temperature. With a moderate content of N-vinylformamide, the copolymers showed complex phase behaviors. Under low-acidity conditions, a suspending liquid was formed, whereas under high-acidity conditions, the random copolymers could assemble into round nanoparticles with a broad particle size distribution.

[Ru(bpy)(3)](2+)-doped silica nanoparticles within layer-by-layer biomolecular coatings and their application as a biocompatible electrochemiluminescent tag material

[Ru(bpy)(3)](2+)-doped silica (RuSi) nanoparticles were synthesized by using a water/oil microemulsion method. Stable electrochemiluminescence (ECL) was obtained when the RuSi nanoparticles were immobilized on a glassy carbon electrode by using tripropylamine (TPA) as a coreactant. Furthermore, the ECL of the RuSi nanoparticles with layer-by-layer biomolecular coatings was investigated. Squential self-assembly of the polyelectrolytes and biomolecules on the RuSi nanoparticles gave nanocomposite suspensions, the ECL of which decreased on increasing the number of bilayers.

Metallic Cation Induced One-Dimensional Assembly of Poly(acrylic acid)-1-Dodecanethiol-Stabilized Gold Nanoparticles

In this work, we report a simple approach for controllable synthesis of one-dimensional (ID) gold nanoparticle (AuNP) assemblies in solution. In the presence of divalent metallic ions, poly(acrylic acid)-1-dodecanethiol-stabilized AuNPs (PAA-DDT@AuNPs) are found to form I D assemblies in aqueous solution by an ion-templated chelation process; this causes an easily measurable change in the absorption spectrum of the particles. The assemblies are very stable and remain suspended in solution for more than one month without significant aggregation.