Corrosion Resistance and Electrical Conductivity of Hybrid Coatings Obtained from Polysiloxane and Carbon Nanotubes by Electrophoretic Co-Deposition.

Nanocomposites developed based on siloxanes modified with carbon nanoforms are materials with great application potential in the electronics industry, medicine and environmental protection. This follows from the fact that such nanocomposites can be endowed with biocompatibility characteristics, electric conductivity and a high mechanical durability. Moreover, their surface, depending on the type and the amount of carbon nanoparticles, may exhibit antifouling properties, as well as those that limit bacterial adhesion. The paper reports on the properties of polysiloxane (PS) and carbon nanotubes (CNT) nanocomposite coatings on metal surfaces produced by the electrophoretic deposition (EPD). A comparison with coatings made of pure PS or pure CNT on the same substrates using the same deposition method (EPD) is provided. The coatings were examined for morphology and elemental composition (SEM, EDS), structural characteristics (confocal Raman spectroscopy), electrical conductivity and were tested for corrosion (electrochemical impedance spectroscopy-EIS, potentiodynamic polarization-PDP). The results obtained in this study clearly evidenced that such hybrid coatings conduct electricity and protect the metal from corrosion. However, their corrosion resistance differs slightly from that of a pure polymeric coating.

Demonstration of the Optical Isotropy of TiO2 Thin Films Prepared by the Sol-Gel Method.

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) thin films prepared by the sol-gel technique have been shown to be optically isotropic and, unlike the films obtained by competitive methods, do not exhibit measurable birefringence. A series of submicrometer-thin titanium dioxide films were prepared using the sol-gel technique and then thermally annealed at different temperatures. The samples were analyzed by spectroscopic ellipsometry using the Mueller matrix formalism, X-ray diffractometry and scanning electron microscopy. The conversion of amorphous titanium dioxide to polycrystalline anatase occurred at 400 °C or higher. Crystallites of a few percent of the film thickness were observed. Nevertheless, the crystallization process did not trigger the appearance of birefringence. These observations demonstrate that high-quality planar optical waveguides can be successfully fabricated on flexible substrates, in particular those composed of efficient polymers that can withstand the aforementioned temperatures.

Understanding polycarbazole-based polymer:CdSe hybrid solar cells.

We report for the first time the fabrication and characterization of organic-inorganic bulk heterojunction (BHJ) hybrid solar cells made of poly[N-9″-hepta-decanyl-2,7-carbazole-alt-5,5-(4',7'-di-2-thienyl-2',1',3'-benzothiadiazole)] (PCDTBT) and pyridine-capped CdSe nanorods. By optimizing both CdSe loading and active layer film thickness, the power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of PCDTBT:CdSe hybrid solar cells were able to reach 2%, with PCDTBT:CdSe devices displaying an open-circuit voltage (V(OC )) that is 35% higher than P3HT:CdSe devices due to the deeper HOMO level of PCDTBT polymer. The performance of PCDTBT:CdSe devices is limited by its morphology and also its lower LUMO energy offset compared to P3HT:CdSe devices. Hence, the performance of PCDTBT:CdSe solar cells could be further improved by modifying the morphology of the films and also by including an interlayer to generate a built-in voltage to encourage exciton dissociation. Our results suggest that PCDTBT could be a viable alternative to P3HT as an electron donor in hybrid BHJ solar cells for high photovoltage application.

Sol-Gel Derived Silica-Titania Waveguide Films for Applications in Evanescent Wave Sensors-Comprehensive Study.

Composite silica-titania waveguide films of refractive index ca. 1.8 are fabricated on glass substrates using a sol-gel method and dip-coating technique. Tetraethyl orthosilicate and tetraethyl orthotitanate with molar ratio 1:1 are precursors. Fabricated waveguides are annealed at 500 °C for 60 min. Their optical properties are studied using ellipsometry and UV-Vis spectrophotometry. Optical losses are determined using the streak method. The material structure and chemical composition, of the silica-titania films are analyzed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and electron dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), respectively. The surface morphology was investigated using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) methods. The results presented in this work show that the waveguide films are amorphous, and their parameters are stable for over a 13 years. The optical losses depend on their thickness and light polarization. Their lowest values are less than 0.06 dB cm-1. The paper presents the results of theoretical analysis of scattering losses on nanocrystals and pores in the bulk and interfaces of the waveguide film. These results combined with experimental data clearly indicate that light scattering at the interface to a glass substrate is the main source of optical losses. Presented waveguide films are suitable for application in evanescent wave sensors.

Reactive Sintering of Dysprosium-Iron Garnet via a Perovskite-Hematite Solid State Reaction and Physical Properties of the Material.

In this paper, we report on a successful synthesis of dysprosium iron garnet Dy3Fe5O12 (DyIG) by a reactive synthesis method involving dysprosium iron perovskite and hematite. Phase formation was traced using dilatometry, and XRD measurements attested to the formation of the desired structure. Samples with relative density close to 97% were fabricated. The samples were characterized using vibrating sample magnetometry, dielectric spectroscopy, and UV-Vis-NIR spectroscopy. Magnetic properties were probed in temperatures between 80 and 700 K with a maximum applied field of 1 kOe. The measurements revealed several effects: the compensation of magnetic moments at a certain temperature, the inversion of the magnetocaloric effect, and the ability to measure the Curie temperature of the material. Activation energy was determined from UV-Vis-NIR and dielectric spectroscopy measurements. Characteristic magnetic temperatures and activation energy values of the samples were similar to bulk DyIG obtained using other methods.

Changes in Optical Parameters of SiO2:TiO2 Films Obtained by Sol-Gel Method Observed as a Result of Thermal Treatment.

The research focused on materials having potential applications in technology of planar evanescent wave sensors. Four samples of binary SiO2:TiO2 thin films having different titania content were manufactured through the sol-gel method and dip-coating technique on polished silicon substrates. The samples were subjected to repeated heating/cooling protocols. Simultaneously, their optical parameters were monitored by spectroscopic ellipsometry as they evolved under varying temperature. Subsequent analysis confirmed linear dependence of refractive index on titania content, at least in vis-NIR wavelengths, as well as a low value of the thermal expansion coefficient. It was shown that the thickness of SiO2:TiO2 films decreased as a result of annealing processes, which may be a consequence of reduced porosity.

High Refractive Index Silica-Titania Films Fabricated via the Sol-Gel Method and Dip-Coating Technique-Physical and Chemical Characterization.

Crack-free binary SiOx:TiOy composite films with the refractive index of ~1.94 at wavelength 632.8 nm were fabricated on soda-lime glass substrates, using the sol-gel method and dip-coating technique. With the use of transmission spectrophotometry and Tauc method, the energy of the optical band gap of 3.6 eV and 4.0 eV were determined for indirect and direct optical allowed transitions, respectively. Using the reflectance spectrophotometry method, optical homogeneity of SiOx:TiOy composite films was confirmed. The complex refractive index determined by spectroscopic ellipsometry confirmed good transmission properties of the developed SiOx:TiOy films in the Vis-NIR spectral range. The surface morphology of the SiOx:TiOy films by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) methods demonstrated their high smoothness, with the root mean square roughness at the level of ~0.15 nm. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy were used to investigate the chemical properties of the SiOx:TiOy material. The developed binary composite films SiOx:TiOy demonstrate good waveguide properties, for which optical losses of 1.1 dB/cm and 2.7 dB/cm were determined, for fundamental TM0 and TE0 modes, respectively.

Surface enhanced second harmonic generation from macrocycle, catenane, and rotaxane thin films: experiments and theory.

Surface enhanced second harmonic generation (SE SHG) experiments on molecular structures, macrocycles, catenanes, and rotaxanes, deposited as monolayers and multilayers by vacuum sublimation on silver, are reported. The measurements show that the molecules form ordered thin films, where the highest degree of order is observed in the case of macrocycle monolayers and the lowest in the case of rotaxane multilayers. The second harmonic generation activity is interpreted in terms of electric field induced second harmonic (EFISH) generation where the electric field is created by the substrate silver atoms. The measured second order nonlinear optical susceptibility for a rotaxane thin film is compared with that obtained by considering only EFISH contribution to SHG intensity. The electric field on the surface of a silver layer is calculated by using the Delphi4 program for structures obtained with TINKER molecular mechanics/dynamics simulations. An excellent agreement is observed between the calculated and the measured SHG susceptibilities.