Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Victory Armida Janine Jaques, Eva Zikmundova, Jiri Holas, Tomas Zikmund, Jozef Kaiser, Katarina Holcova
Summary: Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is a commonly used method for analyzing painting micro-samples with high resolution and precise surface analysis. In this field, low-vacuum SEM (LV-SEM) is mostly used, and this work presents two conductive cross-section preparation methods for non-conductive samples to reduce charging effects without impairing sample integrity.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
N. Nedelcu, V. Chiroiu, L. Munteanu, I. Girip, C. Rugina, A. Lorinczi, E. Matei, A. Sobetkii
Summary: This paper combines three deposition techniques to create a window material with high average transmission at oblique angles of incidence. Optical constants n and k were obtained through spectrophotometry and ellipsometry measurements. A high average transmission of over 91% in the 450-900 nm spectral range at incident angles of 20-25 degrees was achieved, with the refractive index and extinction coefficient determined by the Swanepoel method. The iterative optimization using OpenFilters software resulted in an antireflection multilayer with low reflection and high transmission, while the surface quality of films was characterized by SEM and AFM, showing compact and smooth films.
APPLIED PHYSICS A-MATERIALS SCIENCE & PROCESSING
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Bojun Li, Wenjing Tang, Yue Zhou, Jincheng Liu, De Sun, Xiangyu Wang, Guoliang Zhang, Bingbing Li, Yanxia Ge
Summary: Electrofiltration using conductive membranes can effectively alleviate membrane fouling. However, the dispersion and aggregation issues of graphene in water limit its ability to synthesize conductive membranes. In this study, ultrasonic-assisted electrochemical exfoliation was used to produce water-dispersible graphene, which was then loaded onto a polyacrylonitrile membrane. The resulting graphene/polyacrylonitrile conductive membrane showed high conductivity, water flux, and remarkable antifouling capabilities.
SEPARATION AND PURIFICATION TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Polymer Science
Yarui Guo, Yuhong Qi, Chen Zhang, Shukun Zhang, Zhanping Zhang
Summary: In this study, four types of conductive polyaniline powders were doped in different acids and blended with polydimethylsiloxane to prepare coatings with electromagnetic absorption and fouling desorption effects. Various characterization techniques were used to analyze the morphology, structure, interface properties, mechanical properties, and electromagnetic properties of the coatings. The antifouling performance of the coatings was evaluated through bacterial adhesion and marine diatom adhesion tests. The results showed that adding polyaniline improved the surface energy, roughness, mechanical properties, and antifouling properties of the coating, as well as enhanced its electromagnetic wave loss.
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Yaping Shi, Guangxia Feng, Xiaoliang Li, Xu Yang, Abdulsattar H. Ghanim, Paul Ruchhoeft, David Jackson, Syed Mubeen, Xiaonan Shan
Summary: RIM is a tool that can image and quantify localized impedance on conductive surfaces based on the sensitive dependence between material optical properties and local surface charge densities. Experimental results show that reflectivity modulations are linearly proportional to surface charge density on electrodes, and the measurements agree well with the simple free electron gas model.
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Taesik Eom, Junghyun Lee, Seunghyeon Lee, Busra Ozlu, Sunwoo Kim, David C. Martin, Bong Sup Shim
Summary: The article presents an electrochemical synthesis method for highly conductive PDA composites and demonstrates their advantages in terms of electrochemical performance and structural modulation. This unique PDA composite can be used to develop edible/implantable/biodegradable electrodes, biosensors, and neuromorphic electrochemical devices for future bioelectronic applications.
ACS APPLIED POLYMER MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Ceramics
T. Dharini, P. Kuppusami, N. Kumar, D. Dinesh Kumar, Ajith Kumar Soman, A. M. Kamalan Kirubaharan
Summary: Metal-ceramic nanocomposite coatings, such as YSZ and Ni-YSZ, deposited by EBPVD, were studied for their friction and wear behavior under different temperature conditions. The results showed that YSZ nanocomposite with 50 wt.% Ni content exhibited better wear resistance compared to other coatings, due to the formation of NiO from Ni during frictional heat.
CERAMICS INTERNATIONAL
(2021)
Review
Chemistry, Physical
Chunlei Yang, Tianhui Su, Yanbo Hua, Liming Zhang
Summary: This review summarizes the latest results of electrochemical scanning probe microscopy techniques in studying the interfacial properties of electrocatalysts and photoelectrodes, and offers some perspectives on future research directions.
Review
Chemistry, Physical
Yasuyuki Yokota, Misun Hong, Norihiko Hayazawa, Yousoo Kim
Summary: This review focuses on the electrochemical applications of tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS). TERS combines the advantages of scanning probe microscopy (SPM) and Raman spectroscopy, allowing for high-resolution imaging of surface morphology and chemical information in an electrochemical environment. The review summarizes the pioneering work done on TERS systems in liquid and electrochemical environments, provides an overview of the typical instrumentation used in electrochemical TERS (EC-TERS) based on electrochemical scanning tunneling microscopy (EC-STM), and highlights the advancements in EC-TERS studies of events at interfaces, such as potential-dependent structural changes and electrochemical reactions. Current issues and future prospects of EC-TERS for microscopic studies of electrochemical interfaces are also discussed.
SURFACE SCIENCE REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Andreas Karg, Sebastian Goedrich, Philipp Dennstedt, Nicolas Helfricht, Markus Retsch, Georg Papastavrou
Summary: Scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) is a versatile technique for monitoring electrochemical reactions on a highly resolved local scale. This research presents a novel approach to implement a three-electrode setup for SECM in any fluid cell, allowing for high-resolution imaging and equivalent electrochemical performance to macroscopic electrodes.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Huichao Jin, Jianfu Wang, Limei Tian, Mingyao Gao, Jie Zhao, Luquan Ren
Summary: With the rapid development of the marine industry, biofouling and surface corrosion of underwater equipment have become a major issue. Integrated antifouling and anti-corrosion coatings (IAACs) show promise in addressing these challenges by combining different functionalities. However, further research and development are needed to mature these emerging IAACs for practical applications and commercialization.
MATERIALS & DESIGN
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Jiansen Pan, Qingmei Peng, Guoliang Zhang, Qingyi Xie, Xiangjun Gong, Pei-Yuan Qian, Chunfeng Ma, Guangzhao Zhang
Summary: The study revealed the antifouling mechanism of natural product-based coatings, demonstrating that butenolide can reduce marine bacteria adhesion and trigger their escape response, while also accelerating swimming velocity and reducing flick frequency.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Emily Manderfeld, Mauricio Nunes Kleinberg, Chidambaram Thamaraiselvan, Christopher J. Arnusch, Axel Rosenhahn
Summary: This study establishes a method to replenish and stabilize surface-bound air layers, known as plastrons, using electrically conductive superhydrophobic coatings. The results show that surfaces with intact plastrons resist organism attachment and accumulation, highlighting the promising potential of plastron-based antifouling approaches.
ADVANCED MATERIALS INTERFACES
(2022)
Review
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Huichao Jin, Limei Tian, Wei Bing, Jie Zhao, Luquan Ren
Summary: This review focuses on six major bioinspired antifouling strategies, discusssing their mechanisms, fabrication methods, and current issues. It also introduces the multifunctional bioinspired antifouling strategy, combining the strengths of multiple approaches to potentially enhance the coatings' antifouling capabilities and lifespan, opening a new horizon for the future development of bioinspired marine antifouling coatings.
PROGRESS IN MATERIALS SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Hui Zhou, Hongyu Chen, Rongliang Ma, Xiaoyu Li, Xin Du, Meiqin Zhang
Summary: The use of conductive Ti2O3 nanoparticles as an optical and electrochemical enhancer enables high sensitivity and resolution development of latent fingerprints (LFPs) on various substrates. For most substrates, the black Ti2O3 NPs enable high-sensitivity optical development of LFPs. However, for dark substrates with strong background color interference, the images obtained from Ti2O3-developed fingerprints are blurry. Electrochemical imaging using scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) can eliminate background color interference and provide high contrast and resolution. The results demonstrate that Ti2O3 NPs can serve as a bifunctional developer for enhancing LFPs.
JOURNAL OF ELECTROANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
David S. Knoche, Matthias Steimecke, Yeseul Yun, Lutz Muehlenbein, Akash Bhatnagar
Summary: This study investigates the evolution of bulk photovoltaic effect in BiFeO3 thin films under different polarization conditions, revealing anomalous characteristics in open-circuit voltages under circularly polarized light. Spatially-resolved Raman measurements further analyze the interaction between light and different domains.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Applied
Olaf Klepel, Stephan Utgenannt, Carolin Vormelchert, Mark Koenig, Andre Meissner, Felix Hansen, Jens-Henning Boelte, Tim Sieber, Robert Heinemann, Michael Bron, Anna Rokicinska, Sebastian Jarczewski, Piotr Kustrowski
Summary: A modular synthesis method was developed to prepare a library of mainly amorphous porous carbons with systematically varied features such as nitrogen, oxygen, iron, and graphitic species. The individual features and interrelationships were characterized for applications in various test reactions, showing that nitrogen functionalities can enhance overall catalyst deactivation while graphitic species do not significantly impact the catalytic activity of amorphous carbons.
MICROPOROUS AND MESOPOROUS MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Carolin Proessl, Markus Kuebler, Stephen Paul, Lingmei Ni, Simon-Johannes Kinkelin, Nils Heppe, Klaus Eberhardt, Christopher Geppert, Wolfram Jaegermann, Robert W. Stark, Michael Bron, Ulrike Kramm
Summary: This study explored the feasibility of stabilizing FeNC catalysts with small quantities of Ir to suppress the carbon oxidation reaction and promote the oxygen evolution reaction. Various techniques including Fe-57 Mossbauer spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy were used to investigate the impact on structure and morphology. The results indicated a suppression of the carbon oxidation reaction, however, further optimization is necessary for fuel cell applications.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY A
(2022)
Article
Electrochemistry
Matthias Steimecke, Ana Maria Araujo-Cordero, Emil Dieterich, Michael Bron
Summary: This study simultaneously investigated a single cuprous oxide microcrystal for CO2 electroreduction using Raman microscopy and scanning electrochemical microscopy. The structural changes of the Cu2O microcrystal converting into elemental Cu at low overpotentials were observed in situ. Formate ions were found to be the main product of CO2 reduction, which was detected electrochemically using a 10 μm Pt ultramicroelectrode.
Article
Electrochemistry
Hannes Radinger, Mark Hartmann, Marius Ast, Jessica Pfisterer, Michael Bron, Helmut Ehrenberg, Frieder Scheiba
Summary: This study analyzed commercial and synthetic phosphorus-doped graphene and graphite felt (GF), and found that a low phosphorus concentration and high degree of graphitization can increase catalytic activity. Based on these findings, the GF was modified, resulting in a twofold increase in power density in full cell tests.
ELECTROCHIMICA ACTA
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Emil Dieterich, Simon-Johannes Kinkelin, Michael Bron
Summary: This study successfully synthesized gold nanoparticles with a diameter less than 10 nm using five different reported methods, and the gold nanoparticles supported on carbon demonstrated the highest methanol electrooxidation activity.
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Xubin Lu, Xin Yang, Limin Wang, Fan Li, Haojie Zhang, Jia Li, Lingxing Zan, Michael Bron
Summary: Nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes deposited on nickel foam are investigated as catalysts for hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions. The study shows that nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes with high amounts of graphitic nitrogen have the potential to improve hydrogen electrocatalytic performance and provides a direction for designing better carbon nanotube defects to enhance electrochemical performance.
JOURNAL OF ELECTROANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Electrochemistry
Simon -Johannes Kinkelin, Matthias Steimecke, Emil Dieterich, Michael Bron
Summary: A non-noble metal catalyst (Fe-Nx@MWCNTs) and functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were investigated for their performance in the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in neutral media and their structural properties during electrochemical forced degradation. Different methods, including electroanalytical methods, in situ-Raman microscopy, and ex situ-X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), were used in a two-stage accelerated stress test (AST). It was found that the Fe-Nx complex experienced leaching of the iron central atom during the first stage of the AST, resulting in a decline in ORR activity. The second stage involved stronger electrochemical stress, leading to the formation of surface groups and the destruction of catalytic N-C moieties.
ELECTROCHIMICA ACTA
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Emil Dieterich, Lukas Herrmann, Olga Dzhyginas, Lukas Binnenbose, Matthias Steimecke, Simon-Johannes Kinkelin, Michael Bron
Summary: In this study, the electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO2RR) over carbon-supported gold nanoparticles (AuNP) was thoroughly investigated using a combination of different analytical methods. The study confirmed the presence of different CO2RR mechanisms, particularly in the low-overpotential region, and demonstrated the effectiveness of the multiple methods used.
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Ana Maria Araujo-Cordero, Francesco Caddeo, Behzad Mahmoudi, Michael Bron, A. Wouter Maijenburg
Summary: Cu thin films and Cu2O microstructures were converted to MOFs Cu-3(BTC)(2) or Cu(TCPP) using an electrochemical process, providing higher control and milder conditions compared to the traditional solvothermal MOF synthesis. Cu thin films or different types of Cu or Cu2O microstructures were prepared and subsequently coated with Cu-3(BTC)(2) or Cu(TCPP) through controlled anodic dissolution at room temperature. The size of Cu microcubes increased by a certain percentage.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Emil Dieterich, Simon-Johannes Kinkelin, Matthias Steimecke, Michael Bron
Summary: A study investigated methods for removing stabilizers to improve the electrochemical performance of gold nanoparticles. The effects of several treatment methods on the gold particles were experimentally verified, highlighting the importance of quantitatively validating the success of post-treatment procedures.
NANOSCALE ADVANCES
(2022)
