The Hydroxylated Carbon Nanotubes as the Hole Oxidation System in Electrocatalysis.

The hydroxylated carbon nanotubes (CNTs-OH), due to their propensity to trap electrons, are considered in many applications. Despite many case studies, the effect of the electronic structure of the CNT-OH electrode on its oxidation properties has not received in-depth analysis. In the present study, we used Fe(CN) and Ru(NH) as redox probes, which differ in charge.

Effect of Low-Temperature Oxygen Plasma Treatment of Titanium Alloy Surface on Tannic Acid Coating Deposition.

In this study, the effect of low-temperature oxygen plasma treatment with various powers of a titanium alloy surface on the structural and morphological properties of a substrate and the deposition of a tannic acid coating was investigated. The surface characteristics of the titanium alloy were evaluated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and contact angle measurements. Following this, the tannic acid coatings were deposited on the titanium alloy substrates and the structural and morphological properties of the tannic acid coatings deposited were subject to characterization by XPS, SEM, and spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) measurements.

Optical Properties of Amorphous Carbon Thin Films Fabricated Using a High-Energy-Impulse Magnetron-Sputtering Technique.

This paper reports the results of amorphous carbon thin films fabricated by using the gas-impulse-injection magnetron-sputtering method and differing the accelerating voltage (1.0-1.4 kV).

Impact of Methanol Concentration on Properties of Ultra-Nanocrystalline Diamond Films Grown by Hot-Filament Chemical Vapour Deposition.

Diamond is a very interesting material with a wide range of properties, making it highly applicable, for example, in power electronics, chemo- and biosensors, tools' coatings, and heaters. Due to the high demand for this innovative material based on the properties it is already expected to have, it is important to obtain homogeneous diamond layers for specific applications. Doping is often chosen to modify the properties of layers.

Influence of the Microstructure and Optical Constants on Plasmonic Properties of Copper Nanolayers.

Copper layers with thicknesses of 12, 25, and 35 nm were thermally evaporated on silicon substrates (Si(100)) with two different deposition rates 0.5 and 5.0 Å/s.

The Influence of Annealing on the Optical Properties and Microstructure Recrystallization of the TiO Layers Produced by Means of the E-BEAM Technique.

Titanium dioxide films, about 200 nm in thickness, were deposited using the e-BEAM technique at room temperature and at 227 °C (500K) and then annealed in UHV conditions (as well as in the presence of oxygen (at 850 °C). The fabricated dielectric films were examined using X-ray powder diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and spectroscopic ellipsometry. The applied experimental techniques allowed us to characterize the phase composition and the phase transformation of the fabricated TiO coatings.

Microstructure and Optical Properties of Nanostructural Thin Films Fabricated through Oxidation of Au-Sn Intermetallic Compounds.

AuSn and AuSn thin films (5 nm) were used as precursors during the formation of semiconducting metal oxide nanostructures on a silicon substrate. The nanoparticles were produced in the processes of annealing and oxidation of gold-tin intermetallic compounds under ultra-high vacuum conditions. The formation process and morphology of a mixture of SnO and Au@SnO (the core-shell structure) nanoparticles or Au nanocrystalites were carefully examined by means of spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) combined with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX).

The Effect of Surface Treatment on Structural Properties of CVD Diamond Layers with Different Grain Sizes Studied by Raman Spectroscopy.

Extensive Raman spectroscopy studies combined with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements were performed to investigate structural and chemical changes in diamond layers deposited by chemical vapour deposition (CVD) upon post-growth treatment with hydrogen. The aim of this study is to characterize the changes in micro-structural properties of diamond layers with different grain sizes and different contents of sp carbon phase. Hydrogenation or oxidization of diamond layer surface is often performed to modify its properties; however, it can also strongly affect the surface structure.

Copper Nitride Nanowire Arrays-Comparison of Synthetic Approaches.

Copper nitride nanowire arrays were synthesized by an ammonolysis reaction of copper oxide precursors grown on copper surfaces in an ammonia solution. The starting Cu films were deposited on a silicon substrate using two different methods: thermal evaporation (30 nm thickness) and electroplating (2 μm thickness). The grown CuO or CuO/Cu(OH) architectures were studied in regard to morphology and size, using electron microscopy methods (SEM, TEM).

Microstructure and Optical Properties of E-Beam Evaporated Zinc Oxide Films-Effects of Decomposition and Surface Desorption.

Zinc oxide films have been fabricated by the electron beam physical vapour deposition (PVD) technique. The effect of substrate temperature during fabrication and annealing temperature (carried out in ultra high vacuum conditions) has been investigated by means of atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and spectroscopic ellipsometry. It was found that the layer deposited at room temperature is composed of Zn and ZnO crystallites with a number of orientations, whereas those grown at 100 and 200 ∘C consist of ZnO grains and exhibit privileged growth direction.

Interaction of Te and Se interlayers with Ag or Au nanofilms in sandwich structures.

Noble metal nanolayers on flat substrates are often deposited with the use of semiconductor interlayers, which may strongly interact with the noble metal overlayer. We investigated the crystallinity, atomic concentration profile and optical parameters of ≈35 nm-thick silver and gold layers deposited on glass substrates with 2 nm-thick tellurium or selenium interlayers. Our study, based on X-ray reflectometry (XRR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and ellipsometric measurements, showed that using either of these interlayers introduces strain in nanocrystals of both plasmonic films.

Ge wetting layer increases ohmic plasmon losses in Ag film due to segregation.

We have investigated the influence of the Ge wetting layer on both ohmic and scattering losses of a surface plasmon-polariton (SPP) wave in Ag film deposited on SiO2 substrate with an e-beam evaporator. Samples were examined by means of atomic force microscopy (AFM), spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE), two-dimensional X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and microscopic four-point probe (M4PP) sheet resistance measurements. Ag films of 100 nm thickness were deposited at 180 and 295 K directly onto the substrates with or without a Ge interlayer.