Synthesis and Characterization of Multilayered CrAlN/AlO Tandem Coating Using HiPIMS for Solar Selective Applications at High Temperature.

The effect of applying a negative bias during deposition of a previously designed multilayer solar selective absorber coating was studied on two types of substrates (316L stainless steel and Inconel 625). The solar selective coating is composed of different chromium aluminum nitride layers deposited using a combination of radiofrequency (RF), direct current (DC), and high-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) technologies. The chemical composition is varied to generate an infrared reflective/absorber layer (with low Al addition and N vacancies) and two CrAlN intermediate layers with medium and high aluminum content (Al/Cr = 0.

Determination of the Primary Excitation Spectra in XPS and AES.

This paper reviews a procedure that allows for extracting primary photoelectron or Auger electron emissions from homogeneous isotropic samples. It is based on a quantitative dielectric description of the energy losses of swift electrons travelling nearby surfaces in presence of stationary positive charges. The theory behind the modeling of the electron energy losses, implemented in a freely available QUEELS-XPS software package, takes into account intrinsic and extrinsic effects affecting the electron transport.

High-Quality /O-Terminated Diamond Interface: Band-Gap, Band-Offset and Interfacial Chemistry.

Silicon oxide atomic layer deposition synthesis development over the last few years has open the route to its use as a dielectric within diamond electronics. Its great band-gap makes it a promising material for the fabrication of diamond-metal-oxide field effects transistor gates. Having a sufficiently high barrier both for holes and electrons is mandatory to work in accumulation and inversion regimes without leakage currents, and no other oxide can fulfil this requisite due to the wide diamond band-gap.

Impact of Zulla cover crop in vineyard on the musts volatile profile of Vitis vinifera L. cv Syrah.

Grape aromatic characteristics are very important for producing quality wines. There have been very few studies on concentrations of volatile compounds in grape berries from vines with cover crops. For this reason, the aim of this work was to evaluate the influence of "Zulla" cover crop on the volatile profiles of organically grown Syrah variety grapes.

Titania Enhanced Photocatalysis and Dye Giant Absorption in Nanoporous 1D Bragg Microcavities.

Light trapping effects are known to boost the photocatalytic degradation of organic molecules in 3D photonic structures of anatase titania (a-TiO) with an inverse opal configuration. In the present work, we show that photocatalytic activity can also be enhanced in a-TiO thin films if they are incorporated within a nanoporous 1D optical resonant microcavity. We have designed and manufactured multilayer systems that, presenting a high open porosity to enable a straightforward diffusion of photodegradable molecules, provide light confinement effects at wavelengths around the absorption edge of photoactive a-TiO.

Patterning and control of the nanostructure in plasma thin films with acoustic waves: mechanical vs. electrical polarization effects.

Nanostructuration and 2D patterning of thin films are common strategies to fabricate biomimetic surfaces and components for microfluidic, microelectronic or photonic applications. This work presents the fundamentals of a surface nanotechnology procedure for laterally tailoring the nanostructure and crystalline structure of thin films that are plasma deposited onto acoustically excited piezoelectric substrates. Using magnetron sputtering as plasma technique and TiO as case example, it is demonstrated that the deposited films depict a sub-millimetre 2D pattern that, characterized by large lateral differences in nanostructure, density (up to 50%), thickness, and physical properties between porous and dense zones, reproduces the wave features distribution of the generated acoustic waves (AW).

Pd-C Catalytic Thin Films Prepared by Magnetron Sputtering for the Decomposition of Formic Acid.

Formic acid is an advantageous liquid organic hydrogen carrier. It is relatively nontoxic and can be synthesized by the reaction of CO with sustainable hydrogen or by biomass decomposition. As an alternative to more widely studied powdery catalysts, supported Pd-C catalytic thin films with controlled nanostructure and compositions were newly prepared in this work by magnetron sputtering on structured supports and tested for the formic acid decomposition reaction.

ASSESSMENT OF NATURAL RADIOACTIVITY LEVELS AND RADIATION EXPOSURE IN NEW BUILDING MATERIALS IN SPAIN.

Novel building materials were manufactured and analyzed for 226Ra, 232Th and 40K using an HPGe gamma-ray spectrometer. The results show that the highest value of 40K was 4530 Bq per kg which was measured in a sample containing fly ashes from olive stones. The highest values of 226Ra and 232Th activities were 181 and 185 Bq per kg, which were measured in a sample with fly ashes from the co-combustion of coal and coke, respectively.

Trifaceted Mickey Mouse Amphiphiles for Programmable Self-Assembly, DNA Complexation and Organ-Selective Gene Delivery.

Instilling segregated cationic and lipophilic domains with an angular disposition in a trehalose-based trifaceted macrocyclic scaffold allows engineering patchy molecular nanoparticles leveraging directional interactions that emulate those controlling self-assembling processes in viral capsids. The resulting trilobular amphiphilic derivatives, featuring a Mickey Mouse architecture, can electrostatically interact with plasmid DNA (pDNA) and further engage in hydrophobic contacts to promote condensation into transfectious nanocomplexes. Notably, the topology and internal structure of the cyclooligosaccharide/pDNA co-assemblies can be molded by fine-tuning the valency and characteristics of the cationic and lipophilic patches, which strongly impacts the transfection efficacy in vitro and in vivo.

Multi-level data fusion strategies for modeling three-way electrophoresis capillary and fluorescence arrays enhancing geographical and grape variety classification of wines.

Capillary electrophoresis with diode array detection (CE-DAD) and multidimensional fluorescence spectroscopy (EEM) second-order data were fused and chemometrically processed for geographical and grape variety classification of wines. Multi-levels data fusion strategies on three-way data were evaluated and compared revealing their advantages/disadvantages in the classification context. Straightforward approaches based on a series of data preprocessing and feature extraction steps were developed for each studied level.

Tuning the Topological Landscape of DNA-Cyclodextrin Nanocomplexes by Molecular Design.

Original molecular vectors that ensure broad flexibility to tune the shape and surface properties of plasmid DNA (pDNA) condensates are reported herein. The prototypic design involves a cyclodextrin (CD) platform bearing a polycationic cluster at the primary face and a doubly linked aromatic module bridging two consecutive monosaccharide units at the secondary face that behaves as a topology-encoding element. Subtle differences at the molecular level then translate into disparate morphologies at the nanoscale, including rods, worms, toroids, globules, ellipsoids, and spheroids.

Sensory and spectroscopic characterization of Argentinean wine and balsamic vinegars: A comparative study with European vinegars.

In Argentina, vinegars are cheap agro-food products without exhaustive regulation and the production of high-quality vinegars has not been exploited yet. In fact, Argentinean vinegars have not been studied. In this context, a first study of Argentinean balsamic and wine vinegars was carried out by a sensory and spectroscopic characterization and by a comparison with well-recognized European vinegars.

Assessment of UV-visible spectroscopy as a useful tool for determining grape-must caramel in high-quality wine and balsamic vinegars.

The addition of E-150d caramel, known as grape-must caramel in vinegars, is a legal but without limitation practice in Spanish wine vinegars, as those with a protected designation of origin (PDO), for unifying the final colour of different batches and barrels. It is also used in the production of 'Balsamic vinegar of Modena' vinegars, with a maximum addition fixed at 2% v/v by law. Although its quantification in vinegars was studied by other techniques, there is still not any official method for it.

Porous Graphene-like Carbon from Fast Catalytic Decomposition of Biomass for Energy Storage Applications.

A novel carbon material made of porous graphene-like nanosheets was synthesized from biomass resources by a simple catalytic graphitization process using nickel as a catalyst for applications in electrodes for energy storage devices. A recycled fiberboard precursor was impregnated with saturated nickel nitrate followed by high-temperature pyrolysis. The highly exothermic combustion of in situ formed nitrocellulose produces the expansion of the cellulose fibers and the reorganization of the carbon structure into a three-dimensional (3D) porous assembly of thin carbon nanosheets.

Experimental study on the use of granulometric speciation for the radiometric dating of recent sediments.

Theoretical and experimental studies have shown that activity concentrations of fallout radionuclides (such as Cs and excess Pb) decrease with particles size in aqueous suspensions. This paper is aimed at reviewing the theoretical fundamentals for granulometric speciation of radionuclides, and at exploring its practical use in the analytical context of gamma spectrometry for the radiometric dating of recent sediments, with view to: i) improving the detection of Cs (since its use as independent chronostratigraphic mark is challenging in the southern hemisphere because its low fallout rate), ii) supporting refined CIC models and normalization techniques in Pb-based radiogeochronologies. The work uses surface sediments sampled from the Tinto Estuary (SW Spain), affected by mining and phosphate-fertilizer industries, and from the Ankobra Estuary (Ghana), affected by intensive artisanal gold-mining.

Hydrophobicity, Freezing Delay, and Morphology of Laser-Treated Aluminum Surfaces.

Until recently, superhydrophobicity was considered as a hint to predict surface icephobicity, an association of concepts that is by no means universal and that has been proven to depend on different experimental factors and material properties, including the actual morphology and chemical state of surfaces. This work presents a systematic study of the wetting and freezing properties of aluminum Al6061, a common material widely used in aviation, after being subjected to nanosecond pulsed IR laser treatments to modify its surface roughness and morphology. All treated samples, independent of their surface finishing state, presented initially an unstable hydrophilic wetting behavior that naturally evolved with time to reach hydrophobicity or even superhydrophobicity.

The impact of photocatalytic Ag/TiO and Ag/N-TiO nanoparticles on human keratinocytes and epithelial lung cells.

The potential human health risks following the exposure to inorganic nanoparticles (NPs) is a very important issue for their application in leather finishing industry. The aim of our study was to investigate the cytotoxic effect of silver (Ag)/titanium dioxide (TiO) NPs on human cells. Photocatalytic NPs were prepared by electrochemical deposition of Ag on the surface of TiO and nitrogen (N)-TiO NPs and, subsequently, physico-chemical characterized.

Author Correction: Strong activation effect on a Ru-Co-C thin film catalyst for the hydrolysis of sodium borohydride.

A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML and PDF versions of this paper. The error has been fixed in the paper.

Strong activation effect on a ru-co-c thin film catalyst for the hydrolysis of sodium borohydride.

In this work, we prepared a series of Ni foam supported Ru-Co, Ru-Co-B and Ru-Co-C catalysts in the form of columnar thin films by magnetron sputtering for the hydrolysis of sodium borohydride. We studied the activity and durability upon cycling. We found a strong activation effect for the Ru-Co-C sample which was the highest ever reported.

Towards Extending Solar Cell Lifetimes: Addition of a Fluorous Cation to Triple Cation-Based Perovskite Films.

Organohalide perovskites have emerged as highly promising replacements for thin-film solar cells. However, their poor stability under ambient conditions remains problematic, hindering commercial exploitation. The addition of a fluorous-functionalized imidazolium cation during the preparation of a highly stable cesium-based mixed perovskite material Cs (MA FA ) Pb(I Br ) (MA=methylammonium; FA=formamidinium) has been shown to influence its stability.

Combined TGA-MS kinetic analysis of multistep processes. Thermal decomposition and ceramification of polysilazane and polysiloxane preceramic polymers.

The polymer-to-ceramic transformation kinetics of two widely employed ceramic precursors, 1,3,5,7-tetramethyl-1,3,5,7-tetravinylcyclotetrasiloxane (TTCS) and polyureamethylvinylsilazane (CERASET), have been investigated using coupled thermogravimetry and mass spectrometry (TG-MS), Raman, XRD and FTIR. The thermally induced decomposition of the pre-ceramic polymer is the critical step in the synthesis of polymer derived ceramics (PDCs) and accurate kinetic modeling is key to attaining a complete understanding of the underlying process and to attempt any behavior predictions. However, obtaining a precise kinetic description of processes of such complexity, consisting of several largely overlapping physico-chemical processes comprising the cleavage of the starting polymeric network and the release of organic moieties, is extremely difficult.

The interaction between hybrid organic-inorganic halide perovskite and selective contacts in perovskite solar cells: an infrared spectroscopy study.

The interaction of hybrid organic-inorganic halide perovskite and selective contacts is crucial to get efficient, stable and hysteresis-free perovskite-based solar cells. In this report, we analyze the vibrational properties of methylammonium lead halide perovskites deposited on different substrates by infrared absorption (IR) measurements (4000-500 cm(-1)). The materials employed as substrates are not only characterized by different chemical natures (TiO2, ZnO and Al2O3), but also by different morphologies.

Fluorescence excitation-emission matrix spectroscopy as a tool for determining quality of sparkling wines.

Browning in sparkling wines was assessed by the use of excitation-emission fluorescence spectroscopy combined with PARAllel FACtor analysis (PARAFAC). Four different cava sparkling wines were monitored during an accelerated browning process and subsequently storage. Fluorescence changes observed during the accelerated browning process were monitored and compared with other conventional parameters: absorbance at 420nm (A420) and the content of 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furfural (5-HMF).

Application of Prussian Blue electrodes for amperometric detection of free chlorine in water samples using Flow Injection Analysis.

The performance for free chlorine detection of surfactant-modified Prussian Blue screen printed carbon electrodes (SPCEs/PB-BZT) have been assessed by cyclic voltammetry and constant potential amperometry. The characterization of SPCEs/PB-BZT by X-ray photoemission, Raman and infrared spectroscopies confirmed the correct electrodeposition of the surfactant-modified PB film. These electrodes were incorporated in a Flow Injection device and the optimal working conditions determined as a function of experimental variables such as detection potential, electrolyte concentration or flow-rate.

Optofluidic Modulation of Self-Associated Nanostructural Units Forming Planar Bragg Microcavities.

Bragg microcavities (BMs) formed by the successive stacking of nanocolumnar porous SiO2 and TiO2 layers with slanted, zigzag, chiral, and vertical configurations are prepared by physical vapor deposition at oblique angles while azimuthally varying the substrate orientation during the multilayer growth. The slanted and zigzag BMs act as wavelength-selective optical retarders when they are illuminated with linearly polarized light, while no polarization dependence is observed for the chiral and vertical cavities. This distinct optical behavior is attributed to a self-nanostructuration mechanism involving a fence-bundling association of nanocolumns as observed by focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy in the slanted and zigzag microcavities.