In this paper the fabrication of highly porous 1D nanostructures by a vacuum and plasma etching combined protocol is presented. Zn-phthalocyanine (ZnPc) is utilized as a solid precursor to form the ZnO. First the ZnPc is sublimated in low argon pressure. Depending on the substrate temperature and microstructure, polycrystalline films or single crystal ZnPc nanowires…
This paper presents a novel 3D method to correct for absorption in energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) microanalysis of heterogeneous samples of unknown structure and composition. By using STEM-based tomography coupled with EDX, an initial 3D reconstruction is used to extract the location of generated X-rays as well as the X-ray path through the sample to…
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…
In X-ray excited photoelectron emission (XPS), besides the initial excitation process, the shape and intensity of photoelectron peaks are strongly affected by extrinsic excitations due to electron transport out of the surface (including bulk and surface effects) and to intrinsic excitations due to the sudden creation of the static core hole. To make an accurate…
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…
This work is devoted to the investigation of zirconium oxynitride (ZrOxNy) films with varied optical responses prompted by the variations in their compositional and structural properties. The films were prepared by dc reactive magnetron sputtering of Zr, using Ar and a reactive gas mixture of N-2 + O-2 ( 17:3). The colour of the films…
A detailed study of ammonia synthesis from hydrogen and nitrogen in a planar dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor was carried out. Electrical parameters were systematically varied, including applied voltage and frequency, electrode gap, and type of ferroelectric material (BaTiO3 versus PZT). For selected operating conditions, power consumption and plasma electron density were estimated from Lissajous…
In a tunable circular parallel plate dielectric barrier discharge reactor with pellets of a ferroelectric material separating the electrodes we investigate the plasma reforming of methane trying to maximize both the reaction yield and the energetic efficiency of the process. The geometrical configuration of the reactor (gap between electrodes, active electrode area) and the ferroelectric…
