Characterization of Molecular Interactions in the Bondline of Composites from Plasma-Treated Aluminum and Wood.

Wood and aluminum composites are becoming increasingly attractive due to their ability to combine the advantages of both materials: the lightweight nature of wood and the strength of aluminum. However, using conventional wood adhesives like polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) to bond these dissimilar materials is challenging and requires special surface treatments. Prior studies have demonstrated that applying a dielectric barrier discharge plasma treatment significantly enhances shear and bending strengths in beech wood/aluminum bonds.

Interaction of Cyanoacrylate with Metal Oxide Surfaces (Cu, Al).

The front cover artwork is provided by Prof. Maus-Friedrichs' group at the Clausthal University of Technology. The image shows the molecular interaction formed at the interface between the adhesive cyanoacrylate and a natively oxidized copper or aluminium surface.

Gas Phase Reaction of Silane with Water at Different Temperatures and Supported by Plasma.

The interaction of silane and water is discussed controversially in literature: some authors suggest monosilane and water react kinetically and sufficiently fast enough to remove water, while others state the reaction occurs only at elevated temperatures. This question is of technological interest for the removal of unavoidable water residues in Ar gases. Thermodynamic calculations show that virtually complete removal of water is expected with superstoichiometric silane addition.

Interaction of Cyanoacrylate with Metal Oxide Surfaces (Cu, Al).

Cyanoacrylates are an extremely reactive class of adhesives. Despite their commercial use as instant adhesives, the adhesion mechanism, especially to technically relevant oxidized metal surfaces, has not yet been sufficiently investigated. In the present work, ultra-thin ethyl cyanoacrylate films are deposited on copper oxide and aluminum oxide by spin coating and cured there.

Characterization and Applications of Nanoparticles Modified in-Flight with Silica or Silica-Organic Coatings.

Nanoparticles are coated in-flight with a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) process at ambient or elevated temperatures (up to 300 °C). Two silicon precursors, tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) and hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO), are used to produce inorganic silica or silica-organic shells on Pt, Au and TiO₂ particles. The morphology of the coated particles is examined with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and the chemical composition is studied with Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).

Electron spectroscopic analysis of the human lipid skin barrier: cold atmospheric plasma-induced changes in lipid composition.

The lipids of the stratum corneum comprise the most important components of the skin barrier. In patients with ichthyoses or atopic dermatitis, the composition of the skin barrier lipids is disturbed resulting in dry, scaly, itching erythematous skin. Using the latest X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) technology, we investigated the physiological skin lipid composition of human skin and the effects of cold atmospheric plasma treatment on the lipid composition.

Changes of the near-surface chemical composition of the 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide room temperature ionic liquid under the influence of irradiation.

Radiation induced degradation effects are studied for a model ionic liquid (IL)--[EMIm]Tf(2)N--in order to distinguish in which way the results of X-ray based material analysis methods can be falsified by the radiation supplied by typical X-ray sources itself. Photoelectron spectroscopy is commonly used for determining the electronic structure of ionic liquids. Degradation effects, which often occur e.

Sr diffusion in undoped and La-doped SrTiO3 single crystals under oxidizing conditions.

Strontium titanate SrTiO3(100), (110), and (111) single crystals, undoped or donor doped with up to 1 at% La, were isothermally equilibrated at temperatures between 1523 and 1773 K in synthetic air followed by two different methods of Sr tracer deposition: ion implantation of 87Sr and chemical solution deposition of a thin 86SrTiO3 layer. Subsequently, the samples were diffusion annealed under the same conditions as before. The initial and final depth profiles were measured by SIMS.