A novel method to enhance the conductance of transitional metal oxide electrodes.

Transitional metal oxides hold great potential for high capacity anodes. However, the low electron conductivity of such materials leads to poor cycling stability and inferior rate capability. We reported herein the use of a novel hydrogen plasma technology to improve the conductance of metal oxides, which leads great success in improving the rate performance of CuO nanotube based anodes.

Surface analysis of polymers treated by remote atmospheric pressure plasma.

The surfaces of high-density polyethylene (HDPE), poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), and polyethersulfone (PES) were treated with a low-temperature, atmospheric pressure oxygen and helium plasma. The polymers were exposed to the downstream afterglow of the plasma, which contained primarily oxygen atoms and metastable oxygen molecules ((1)Delta(g) O(2)), and no ions or electrons. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) of HDPE revealed that 20% of the carbon atoms were converted into oxidized functional groups, with about half of these being carboxylic acids.

Kinetic control of self-catalyzed indium phosphide nanowires, nanocones, and nanopillars.

The morphological phase diagram is reported for InP nanostructures grown on InP (111)B as a function of temperature and V/III ratio. Indium droplets were used as the catalyst and were generated in situ in the metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy reactor. Three distinct nanostructures were observed: wires, cones, and pillars.

Self-catalyzed epitaxial growth of vertical indium phosphide nanowires on silicon.

Vertical indium phosphide nanowires have been grown epitaxially on silicon (111) by metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy. Liquid indium droplets were formed in situ and used to catalyze deposition. For growth at 350 degrees C, about 70% of the wires were vertical, while the remaining ones were distributed in the 3 other <111> directions.

Hydrophobic films by atmospheric plasma curing of spun-on liquid precursors.

Hydrophobic coatings have been produced on glass and acrylic samples by using a low-temperature atmospheric pressure plasma to polymerize liquid fluoroalkylsilane precursors. The fluoroalkylsilane precursor was dissolved in isooctane and spun onto the substrate at 550 rpm. The sample was then exposed to the reactive species generated from a nitrogen plasma.

Inorganic surface nanostructuring by atmospheric pressure plasma-induced graft polymerization.

Surface graft polymerization of 1-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone onto a silicon surface was accomplished by atmospheric pressure (AP) hydrogen plasma surface activation followed by graft polymerization in both N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) and in an NMP/water solvent mixture. The formation of initiation sites was controlled by the plasma exposure period, radio frequency (rf) power, and adsorbed surface water. The surface number density of active sites was critically dependent on the presence of adsorbed surface water with a maximum observed at approximately a monolayer surface water coverage.

Phosphine adsorption on the In-rich InP(001) surface: evidence of surface dative bonds at room temperature.

Adsorption of phosphine on indium phosphide compound semiconductor surfaces is a key process during the chemical vapor deposition of this material. Recent experimental infrared studies of the In-rich InP surfaces exposed to phosphine show a complex vibrational pattern in the P-H stretch region, presumably due to overlapping contributions from several structural species. We have performed density functional calculations using finite-sized cluster models to investigate the dissociative adsorption of PH3 on the In-rich InP surface.