Tag: microcantilevers

New Insights in the Ion Beam Sputtering Deposition of ZnO-Fluoropolymer Nanocomposites

Surface modification treatments able to confer antistain/antibacterial properties to natural or synthetic materials are receiving increasing attention among scientists. Ion beam co-sputtering (IBS) of zinc oxide (ZnO) and poly-tetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) targets allows for the preparation of novel multifunctional coatings composed of antimicrobial ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) finely dispersed in an antistain PTFE polymeric matrix.*

In the article “New Insights in the Ion Beam Sputtering Deposition of ZnO-Fluoropolymer Nanocomposites” Maria Chiara Sportelli, Marco Valentini, Rosaria Anna Picca, Antonella Milella, Angelo Nacci, Antonio Valentini and Nicola Cioffi describe the use of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) for the characterization of the IBS deposited coatings in order to obtain information on the materials’ surface composition, with deep insight into the nanocoatings’ morphology as a function of the ZnONP loadings.*

The AFM micrographs shown in this article were acquired on 150-nm-thick films in dynamic (“tapping”) mode, in air, using NanoWorld Pointprobe® NCL AFM probes.

Figure 2 from “New Insights in the Ion Beam Sputtering Deposition of ZnO-Fluoropolymer Nanocomposites” by Maria Chiara Sportelli et al.: Atomic force microscopy (AFM) micrographs of ZnO-CFx nanocomposites having an inorganic phase volume fraction of φ = 0.05 (a–a’), φ = 0.10 (b–b’), and φ = 0.15 (c–c’). NanoWorld Pointprobe® NCL AFM probes were used.
Figure 2 from “New Insights in the Ion Beam Sputtering Deposition of ZnO-Fluoropolymer Nanocomposites” by Maria Chiara Sportelli et al.: Atomic force microscopy (AFM) micrographs of ZnO-CFx nanocomposites having an inorganic phase volume fraction of φ = 0.05 (a–a’), φ = 0.10 (b–b’), and φ = 0.15 (c–c’).

*Maria Chiara Sportelli, Marco Valentini, Rosaria Anna Picca, Antonella Milella, Angelo Nacci, Antonio Valentini and Nicola Cioffi
New Insights in the Ion Beam Sputtering Deposition of ZnO-Fluoropolymer Nanocomposites
Applied Sciences 2018, 8(1), 77
DOI: 10.3390/app8010077

Please follow this external link for the full article: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/8/1/77/htm

Open Access: The article « New Insights in the Ion Beam Sputtering Deposition of ZnO-Fluoropolymer Nanocomposites » by Maria Chiara Sportelli et al. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Meet our CEO at AVS 65th International Symposium and Exhibition

Are you visiting the 65th AVS International Symposium and Exhibition in Long Beach CA today? If yes, you might meet our CEO Manfred Detterbeck who is passing by as well.

NanoWorld CEO Manfred Detterbeck at AVS 65th AVS International Symposium and Exhibition at Long Beach CA NanoWorld AFM probes
NanoWorld CEO Manfred Detterbeck at AVS 65th AVS International Symposium and Exhibition at Long Beach CA

 

Long Beach Convention Center venue of the AVS 65th International Symposium and Exhibition
Long Beach Convention Center venue of the AVS 65th International Symposium and Exhibition

Direct observation of the dynamics of single metal ions at the interface with solids in aqueous solutions

For the AFM measurements in the article “Direct observation of the dynamics of single metal ions at the interface with solids in aqueous solutions” by Ricci, M. et al. a NanoWorld Arrow-UHFAuD AFM probe was used. Congratulations to the authors!

Figure 3 from: "Ricci, M. et al. Direct observation of the dynamics of single metal ions at the interface with solids in aqueous solutions."
Figure 3 from: “Ricci, M. et al. Direct observation of the dynamics of single metal ions at the interface with solids in aqueous solutions.“: Kinetic experiments conducted in pure water (a) show mainly two levels (arrows) when compared to Fig. 2a. Height variations are less pronounced than in RbCl solution and analysis of the surface dynamics (inset) reveals slower timescales with a relatively strong dependence on the choice of threshold. The profile shown in the inset is taken after site averaging (see e.g. Fig. 2d), hence the small height variations. More reliable results were obtained for lower threshold values (here −20 pm, see Supplementary Fig. S10). The overall ratio between the two levels visible in (a) can be changed by adjusting the pH of the water with HCl (b–g), suggesting the higher level to be related to hydration water and the lower level to reflect adsorption of H3O+, as detected by the AFM tip. For each of the pH value studied, the raw kinetic experiments (b,e) are site-averaged (c,f) as in Fig. 2d to remove the mica corrugation and imaging noise. The height distribution of the site-averaged data is then binarised automatically (d,g) depending on whether the surface height is higher or lower than the average between the surface’s highest and lowest points. The fraction of surface interpreted as covered with H3O+ (purple in d and g) changes from 55 ± 3% to 75 ± 2%. (b,e) were acquired with a same tip. The mica samples have been rinsed with the imaging solution after being cleaved and the presence of K+ ions on the surface can be neglected (concentration <10 nM). The scale bar is 3 nm in all experiments.

Abstract:
The dynamics of ions adsorbed at the surface of immersed charged solids plays a central role in countless natural and industrial processes such as crystal growth, heterogeneous catalysis, electrochemistry, or biological function. Electrokinetic measurements typically distinguish between a so-called Stern layer of ions and water molecules directly adsorbed on to the solid’s surface, and a diffuse layer of ions further away from the surface. Dynamics within the Stern layer remain poorly understood, largely owing to a lack of in-situ atomic-level insights. Here we follow the dynamics of single Rb+ and H3O+ ions at the surface of mica in water using high-resolution atomic force microscopy with 25 ms resolution. Our results suggest that single hydrated Rb+ions reside τ1 = 104 ± 5 ms at a given location, but this is dependent on the hydration state of the surface which evolves on a slower timescale of τ2 = 610 ± 30 ms depending on H3O+ adsorption. Increasing the liquid’s temperature from 5 °C to 65 °C predictably decreases the apparent glassiness of the interfacial water, but no clear effect on the ions’ dynamics was observed, indicating a diffusion-dominated process. These timescales are remarkably slow for individual monovalent ions and could have important implications for interfacial processes in electrolytes.

Maria Ricci, William Trewby, Clodomiro Cafolla, Kislon Voïtchovsky
Direct observation of the dynamics of single metal ions at the interface with solids in aqueous solutions
Nature Scientific Reports 7, Article number: 43234 (2017)
doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/srep43234

Please follow this external link for the full article: https://rdcu.be/4QVb

This article “Direct observation of the dynamics of sigle metal ions at the interface with solids in aqueous solutions” by Ricci, M. et al. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/