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At least 37 records · Page 2

Effect of oxide films on hydrogen permeability of candidate Stirling engine heater head tube alloys

The effect of oxide films developed in situ from CO/CO2 doped hydrogen on high pressure hydrogen permeability at 820 C was studied on N-155, A-286, IN 800, 19-9DL, Nitronic 40, HS-188, and IN 718 tubing in a Stirling materials simulator. The hydrogen permeability decreased with increasing dopant levels of CO or CO2 and corresponding decreases in oxide porosity. Minor reactive alloying elements strongly influenced permeability. At high levels of CO or CO2, a liquid oxide formed on alloys with greater than 50 percent Fe. This caused increased permeability. The oxides formed on the inside tube walls were analyzed and their effective permeabilities were calculated.

Schuon, S. R.↗

Deposition of vanadium oxide films by direct-current magnetron reactive sputtering

It is demonstrated here that thin films of vanadium oxide can be deposited at modest substrate temperatures by dc reactive sputtering from a vanadium target in an O2-Ar working gas using a planar magnetron source. Resistivity ratios of about 5000 are found between a semiconductor phase with a resistivity of about 5 Ohm cm and a metallic phase with a resistivity of about 0.001 Ohm cm for films deposited onto borosilicate glass substrates at about 400 C. X-ray diffraction shows the films to be single-phase VO2 with a monoclinic structure. The VO2 films are obtained for a narrow range of O2 injection rates which correspond to conditions where cathode poisoning is just starting to occur.

Kusano, E.↗

Ambient-Temperature Sputtering Of Composite Oxide Films

Technique for deposition of homogeneous films of multicomponent oxides on substrates at ambient temperature based on sequential sputter deposition of individual metal components, as alternating ultra-thin layers, from multiple targets. Substrates rotated over sputtering targets of lead, zirconium, and titanium. Dc-magnetron sputtering of constituent metals in reactive ambient of argon and oxygen leads to formation of the respective metal oxides intermixed on extremely fine scale in desired composition. Compatible with low-temperature microelectronic processing.

Thakoor, Sarita↗

The Effect of Interface Roughness and Oxide Film Thickness on the Inelastic Response of Thermal Barrier Coatings to Thermal Cycling

The effects of interfacial roughness and oxide film thickness on thermally-induced stresses in plasma-sprayed thermal barrier coatings subjected to thermal cycling are investigated using the recently developed higher-order theory for functionally graded materials. The higher-order theory is shown to be a viable alternative to the finite-element approach, capable of modeling different interfacial roughness architectures in the presence of an aluminum oxide layer and capturing the high stress gradients that occur at the top coat/bond coat interface. The oxide layer thickness is demonstrated to have a substantially greater effect on the evolution of residual stresses than local variations in interfacial roughness. Further, the location of delamination initiation in the top coat is predicted to change with increasing oxide layer thickness. This result can be used to optimize the thickness of a pre-oxidized layer introduced at the top coat/bond coat interface in order to enhance TBC durability as suggested by some researchers. The results of our investigation also support a recently proposed hypothesis regarding delamination initiation and propagation in the presence of an evolving bond coat oxidation, while pointing to the importance of interfacial roughness details and specimen geometry in modeling this phenomenon.

Pindera, Marek-Jerzy↗

Stress generation in thermally grown oxide films

A three dimensional finite element analysis was conducted, using the ANSYS computer program, of the stress state in a thin oxide film thermally formed on a rectangular piece of NiCrAl alloy. The analytical results indicate a very high compressive stress in the lateral directions of the film (approximately 6200 MPa), and tensile stresses in the metal substrate that ranged from essentially zero to about 55 MPa. It was found further that the intensity of the analytically determined average stresses could be approximated reasonably well by the modification of an equation developed previously by Oxx for stresses induced into bodies by thermal gradients.

Kumnick, A. J.↗

Interfacial Charge Transfer and Substrate-Dependent Oxidation States Drive SMSI Enhancements in Cobalt Oxide Films

Here, we investigated the mechanisms underlying strong metal-support interactions in CO oxidation using model systems where noble metal crystals support reducible, monolayer-thick CoO x films. The effect of the Co oxidation state, film thickness, and substrate identity were studied in varying reaction conditions using ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. At low O 2 pressures, the same oxide phase forms on both Pt(111) and Au(111) surfaces. But when heated at higher O 2 pressures, the oxide phase depends on the substrate. We found that CoO x /Pt is more active for the CO oxidation reaction than CoO x /Au, even when both surfaces stabilize the same oxide phase. DFT calculations on these and related noble-metal-supported CoO x films reveal an SMSI-induced reactivity enhancement that strongly depends on the oxide film thickness and which is mediated by charge transfer between the metal and oxide. Charge transfer is also found to correlate with the reaction energy and activation barrier for CO oxidation. This effect was found to be greatest for oxide films on Pt, decreasing on other noble metal supports in the order Pt > Pd > Au > Ag, in agreement with the experiments. The role of charge transfer in the activation barriers and reaction energies provides insight into the nature of SMSI-induced catalytic activity, and suggests that the noble metal work function can serve as an indicator for the strength of SMSI effects.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Patterning of Indium Tin Oxide Films

A relatively rapid, economical process has been devised for patterning a thin film of indium tin oxide (ITO) that has been deposited on a polyester film. ITO is a transparent, electrically conductive substance made from a mixture of indium oxide and tin oxide that is commonly used in touch panels, liquid-crystal and plasma display devices, gas sensors, and solar photovoltaic panels. In a typical application, the ITO film must be patterned to form electrodes, current collectors, and the like. Heretofore it has been common practice to pattern an ITO film by means of either a laser ablation process or a photolithography/etching process. The laser ablation process includes the use of expensive equipment to precisely position and focus a laser. The photolithography/etching process is time-consuming. The present process is a variant of the direct toner process an inexpensive but often highly effective process for patterning conductors for printed circuits. Relative to a conventional photolithography/ etching process, this process is simpler, takes less time, and is less expensive. This process involves equipment that costs less than $500 (at 2005 prices) and enables patterning of an ITO film in a process time of less than about a half hour.

Immer, Christopher↗

Nano-crystalline porous tin oxide film for carbon monoxide sensing

A tin oxide sol is deposited on platinum electrodes (12) of a sensor (10). The sol is calcined at a temperature of 500 to 800.degree. C. to produce a thin film of tin oxide with a thickness of about 150 nm to 2 .mu. and having a nano-crystalline structure with good stability. The sensor rapidly detects reducing gases, such as carbon monoxide, or hydrocarbons and organic vapors. Sensors using films calcined at around 700.degree. C. have high carbon monoxide selectivity with a response time of around 4 minutes and a recovery time of 1 minute, and therefore provide good detection systems for detection of trace amounts of pollutants such as toxic and flammable gases in homes, industrial settings, and hospitals.

Liu, Chung-Chiun↗

Study of indium tin oxide films exposed to atomic axygen

A qualitative simulation of the effects of atomic oxygen has been conducted on indium tin oxide (ITO) films prepared by dc sputtering onto room-temperature substrates, by exposing them to an RF-excited oxygen plasma and characterizing the resulting changes in optical, electrical, and structural properties as functions of exposure time with ellipsometry, spectrophotometry, resistivity, and X-ray measurements. While the films thus exposed exhibit reduced resistivity and optical transmission; both of these effects, as well as partial crystallization of the films, may be due to sample heating by the plasma. Film resistivity is found to stabilize after a period of exposure.

Snyder, Paul G.↗

Mesoporous Amorphous High-Entropy Oxide Films: Unlocking Enhanced Redox Activity

High-entropy oxides (HEOs) represent a frontier in catalyst design via entropy-stabilized solid solution formation. However, their catalytic efficiency is limited by their bulk and dense nature. This work presents a strategic approach to tackle this challenge by fabricating mesoporous amorphous HEO films (MA-HEOF) possessing maximized active site utilization efficiency. The success hinges on the as-developed geometric engineering strategy via controlled deposition–precipitation to confine the amorphous HEO thin film on the surface of mesoporous channels. The unique structure of MA-HEOF was elucidated via microscopy-, X-ray-, and neutron-based techniques, which were manifested by enriched surface-activated lattice oxygen and enhanced redox activity, as confirmed by isotope studies. Besides, the MA-HEOF could stabilize and modulate the properties of integrated noble metal sites, enhancing their redox activity in diverse reactions. In conclusion, the approaches and insights presented herein provide guidance on maximizing the utilization efficiency of high-entropy materials in catalysis and beyond.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Local structure of zinc–indium–tin oxide films via grazing-incidence x-ray pair-distribution functions and theoretical methods

A detailed experimental and theoretical study on the local (r ≤ 4.5 Å) atomic structure of amorphous and crystalline zinc–indium–tin oxide (ZITO) thin films using grazing-incidence x-ray Pair-Distribution Functions (PDFs), ab initio Molecular Dynamics (MD), and Empirical Potential Structure Refinement (EPSR) Monte Carlo simulations is presented. High-energy synchrotron x rays, a two-dimensional detector, and different incident angles were used to probe the depth uniformity of five (ZnO) 0.15 (In 2 O 3 ) 0.70 (SnO 2 ) 0.15 films that were deposited via pulsed-laser deposition at growth temperatures (T G ) ranging from 25 to 300 °C. Films deposited at T G ≤ 150 °C were amorphous. The partially crystalline (T G = 200 °C) and fully crystalline (T G = 300 °C) films were highly textured. Both crystalline and amorphous structures were investigated using ab initio MD and EPSR Monte Carlo simulations. The density of the amorphous films determined from the experimental data agreed with MD calculations. Coordination numbers, bond lengths, and distortion for metal–oxygen and for both the edge- and corner-shared In–metal shells up to 4.5 Å obtained from PDF analysis closely agreed with MD and EPSR simulations. There is a pronounced decrease in the edge- and corner-shared In–Zn distances arising from the shorter Zn–O bond length, Zn–O tetrahedral coordination, and In–O–Zn angle in amorphous ZITO compared to its crystalline counterpart. A maximum in electrical mobility was observed for the amorphous film just before crystallization occurred. While the peak is broad, consistent with nearly unchanged overall cation–oxygen coordination in the amorphous films, ESPR results indicate that the tetrahedral coordination follows the conductivity trend.

Grazing Incidence X-ray↗