Pairs of samples containing Ag nanoparticles (NPs) of different dimensions have been produced under the same conditions but on different substrates, namely standard glass slides and a thin layer of amorphous aluminum oxide (a-Al2O3) on-glass. Upon storage in ambient conditions (air and room temperature) the color of samples changed and a blue-shift and damping of…
We have studied low refractive index fluorine doped silica thin films prepared by reactive magnetron sputtering. Two experimental parameters were varied to increase the porosity of the films, the geometry of the deposition process (i.e., the use of glancing angle deposition) and the presence of chemical etching agents (fluorine species) at the plasma discharge during…
A set of three catalysts (a Au–Ni bimetallic and their corresponding Au and Ni monometallics) has been prepared by impregnation of previously prepared suspensions of monodisperse metallic particles to ensure the precise control of their physicochemical characteristics (size and composition). The Au–Ni/CeO2 bimetallic catalysts present better reactivity toward CO oxidation than monometallic Au/CeO2 and Ni/CeO2…
The aim of this review article on recent developments of mechanochemistry (nowadays established as a part of chemistry) is to provide a comprehensive overview of advances achieved in the field of atomistic processes, phase transformations, simple and multicomponent nanosystems and peculiarities of mechanochemical reactions. Industrial aspects with successful penetration into fields like materials engineering, heterogeneous…
The concept of generalized time θ=∫exp(−Ea/RT)dt θ = ∫ exp ( − E a / RT ) d t in non-isothermal kinetics was introduced by Ozawa in 1965, together with the well-known isoconversional plot, i.e., Ozawa plot. The generalized time is the key concept to tie the kinetic data under varying temperature to the kinetic…
Aqueous hydrolysis of a series of cerium-containing polyoxotitanium cages gives Ce(III)-doped TiO2 [TiO2(Ce)] or TiO2-supported Ce(III)2Ti2O7, depending on the starting Ti : Ce ratio of the precursor. TiO2-supported Ce2Ti2O7 exhibits superior photocatalytic activity to the Ce-doped TiO2 materials and unusual broad-band absorption behaviour across the visible and near-infrared regions.
Microstructural characteristics and amplitude dependences of the Young modulus E and of internal friction (logarithmic decrement δ) of bio-carbon matrices prepared from beech tree wood at different carbonization temperatures T carb ranging from 600 to 1600°C have been studied. The dependences E(T carb) and δ(T carb) thus obtained revealed two linear regions of increase of…
A comparative study of both conventional rising temperature and sample-controlled methods, like constant rate thermal analysis (CRTA), is carried out after analyzing a set of solid state reactions using both methods. It is shown that CRTA avoids the influence of heat and mass transfer phenomena for a wide range of sample sizes leading to reliable…
This work reports the morphological and chemical modifications induced in TiO2 thin films by bombardment with high energy N+ ions at different temperatures and their different photo-activity responses after implantation under visible and UV light illumination. When implanted samples are illuminated with visible light, no dye photo-decolouration takes place despite that light transformed the surfaces…
The thermal degradation kinetics of several ethylene–propylene copolymers (EPM) and ethylene–propylene–diene terpolymers (EPDM), with different chemical compositions, have been studied by means of the combined kinetic analysis. Until now, attempts to establish the kinetic model for the process have been unsuccessful and previous reports suggest that a model other than a conventional nth order might…