Nanostructural Analysis of Porous Oblique Angle Deposited (OAD) Multilayer Systems by Grazing-Incidence Small-Angle X-Ray Scattering

This work reports a thorough characterization analysis of various porous thin film multilayers by means of grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS). Alternated TiO2/SiO2 nanocolumnar layers deposited at oblique angles are fabricated in slanted, chiral, and zig-zag configurations by rotating azimuthally the substrate from one layer to the next. Multilayer systems formed by the stacking of…

Growth of nanocolumnar porous TiO2 thin films by magnetron sputtering using particle collimators

The selective incorporation of deposition species with preferential directionality is analyzed during the growth of TiO2 thin films by magnetron sputtering. Using wisely-designed collimators, tilted nanocolumnar morphologies are grown in a ballistic deposition regime, i.e. when most deposition species arrive at the film surface along well-defined preferential directions, and also in a thermalized deposition regime,…

In Vitro Comparative Study of Oxygen Plasma Treated Poly(Lactic-Co-Glycolic) (PLGA) Membranes and Supported Nanostructured Oxides for Guided Bone Regeneration Processes

(1) Background: The use of physical barriers to prevent the invasion of gingival and connective tissue cells into bone cavities during the healing process is called guided bone regeneration. The objective of this in-vitro study was to compare the growth of human osteoblasts on Poly(Lactic-co-Glycolic) (PLGA) membranes modified with oxygen plasma and Hydroxyapatite (HA), silicon…

Enhancing Moisture and Water Resistance in Perovskite Solar Cells by Encapsulation with Ultrathin Plasma Polymers

A compromise between high power conversion efficiency and long-term stability of hybrid organic inorganic metal halide perovskite solar cells is necessary for their outdoor photovoltaic application and commercialization. Herein, a method to improve the stability of perovskite solar cells under water and moisture exposure consisting of the encapsulation of the cell with an ultrathin plasma…

Electrophoretic deposition of mixed copper oxide/GO as cathode and N-doped GO as anode for electrochemical energy storage

In this work, energy storage properties of mixed copper oxide wrapped by reduced graphene oxide and nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide were investigated. First, co-electrophoretic deposition technique was used to coat GO@CuO on nickel foam; followed by electrochemical phase transformation to rGO@CuxO. Electron spectroscopy analyses (XPS, REELS and UPS) confirm the phase transformation and electrochemical reduction.…

Robust polarization active nanostructured 1D Bragg Microcavities as optofluidic label-free refractive index sensor

In this work we report the use of polarization active porous 1D Bragg microcavities (BM) prepared by physical vapor deposition at oblique angles for the optofluidic analysis of liquid solutions. These photonic structures consist of a series of stacked highly porous layers of two materials with different refractive indices and high birefringence. Their operational principle…

In situ monitoring of the phenomenon of electrochemical promotion of catalysis

In this work we investigate by in-situ near-ambient pressure photoemission (NAPP) spectroscopy the phenomenon of Electrochemical Promotion of Catalysis (EPOC). We studied the reduction and diffusion kinetics of alkaline ions in a solid electrolyte cell formed by a nickel electrode supported on K+-beta-alumina electrolyte. Experiments in ultra-high vacuum and in the presence of steam showed…