Sharif Digital Repository

Models capable of accurate simulation of microcantilever dynamics coupled with complex tip–sample interactions are essential for interpretation and prediction of the imaging results in amplitude modulation or tapping-mode atomic-force microscopy (AM-AFM or TM-AFM). In this paper, four approaches based on combinations of lumped and finite element methods for modelling of cantilever dynamics, and van der Waals and molecular dynamics for modelling of tip–sample interactions, are used to simulate the precise imaging by AM-AFM. Based on the simulated imaging and force determination, the efficiency of different modelling schemes is evaluated. This comparison is performed considering their... 

To enhance hydrophilicity and photocatalytic activity, N-doped and N–V-codoped TiO2films were coated on glass substrates by the sol–gel dip-coating method. The substrates were previously coated with SiO2using the same method. The coated samples, after annealing at 450 °C for 30 min in air, were analyzed by an X-ray diffractometer, scanning electron microscope, Fourier transform infrared spectroscope, X-ray photoelectron spectroscope, and UV–visible spectroscope. The SiO2/N–V-codoped TiO2photocatalyst showed a narrower band gap (2.93 eV) compared to the SiO2/N-doped. Degradation tests, methyl orange under UV light and stearic acid under visible light, were performed in order to evaluate... 

A lubrication model is used to study dewetting of an evaporating thin film layer over a solid substrate with a nanometer-scale topography. The effects of the geometry of the topography, the contact angle, the film thickness, and the slippage on the dewetting have been studied. Our results reveal that the evaporation enhances the dewetting process and reduces the depinning time over the topography. Also it is shown that the depinning time is inversely proportional to the slippage and increasing the contact angle may considerably reduce the depinning time, while the film thickness increases the depinning time  

Nowadays, thin films have many applications in every field. So, in order to improve the performance of thin film devices, it is necessary to characterize their mechanical as well as electrical properties. In this research work we focus on the development of a model for the analysis of the mechanical and electrical properties of silver nanoparticles deposited on silicon substrates. The model consists of inter-particle diffusion modeling and finite element analysis. In this study, through the simulation of the sintering process, it is shown that how the geometry, density, and electrical resistance of the thin film layer are changed with sintering conditions. The model is also used to... 

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) thin films were reinforced by glutaraldehyde and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and then mechanical, water solubility, water swelling, water uptake, water vapor permeability, and antibacterial properties of the films were examined. Cross-linking by glutaraldehyde or incorporation of MWCNT caused a significant increase in tensile strength, decrease in elongation at break, and increase in Young's modulus of the PVA films, while MWCNTs were more effective rather than that of glutaraldehyde. Cross-linking by glutaraldehyde or incorporation of MWCNT caused a significant decrease in water solubility, water swelling and water uptake, with a similar manner.... 

RGO/TiO2NTs/Ti electrodes with high surface area and good capacitive characteristics were prepared by simple electrochemical reduction of graphene oxide (GO) onto the previously formed TiO2 nanotubes. Microstructure studies show that reduced graphene oxide (RGO) having high surface area has been deposited onto the TiO2NT arrays. The electrochemical capacitive behaviors of the obtained electrodes were investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge–discharge studies, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in 1 M H2SO4 solution. The electrochemical data demonstrated that the electrodes displayed specific capacitance of 410 F g−1 at the current density of 50 A g−1 and... 

CdS/TiO2/graphene (CTG) nanocomposite thin films were synthesized by a facile production route. The TiO2/graphene (TG) nanocomposite was initially fabricated by sol-gel method in such a way that TiO2 nanoparticles loaded on graphene oxide (GO) sheet via photocatalytic process. Then, CdS nanoparticles were deposited on the TG thin film by successive ion layer adsorption and reaction process (SILAR) approach. Based on atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses, the TG thin film possessed a larger surface area as compared with the pure TiO2 thin film due to presence of graphene sheet. UV/visible spectroscopy exhibited... 

The analytical treatment of an axisymmetric rigid punch indentation of an isotropic half-space reinforced by a buried extensible thin film is addressed. With the aid of appropriate displacement potential functions, Hankel transforms, and some mathematical techniques, the mixed boundary value problem under consideration is reduced to a Fredholm integral equation of the second kind. The most interesting results of the problem, including the equivalent normal stiffness of the system and the contact stress distribution beneath the rigid punch, are expressed in terms of the solution of the obtained Fredholm integral equation. Some limiting cases corresponding to inextensible and extremely... 

In this research, an attempt was made to improve TiO2 photo-catalyst properties, thus pure, N-Ce co-doped TiO2 thin films were prepared on glass-ceramic substrate using a sol-gel dip-coating technique. The samples were calcinated in air at 475 °C, 550°C, and 650°C for 2 h. The result of simultaneous thermal analysis (STA) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) showed that the presence of Ce in TiO2 could inhibit the phase transformation from anatase to rutile and enhance the thermal stability, and anatase was the dominant phase in N-Ce co-doped TiO2 samples. Also based on the results, the doping results in decreasing the size of TiO 2 crystallite. The results of ultra violet-visible light diffuse... 

In this report, crack-free nanostructured barium titanate thin films are prepared by a sol-gel processing method. Glacial acetic acid, barium acetate, titanium tetraisopropyl alkoxide, 2-propanol and deionized water are used as precursors for preparing stable precursor solution. Then very thin films (thickness=26 nm) are deposited on fused silica substrates. In order to prepare crack-free thin films of BaTiO3, much attention is given to solvent evaporation process and a controlled pre-drying process is developed. It is found that the control of the process, especially in the initial stage of drying process is crucial and important for preparation of the crack-free ultrathin nanostructured... 

Plasmonic Sierpinski nanocarpet as back structure for a thin film Si solar cell is investigated. We demonstrate that ultra-broadband light trapping can be obtained by placing square metallic nanoridges with Sierpinski pattern on the back contact of the thin film solar cell. The multiple-scale plasmonic fractal structure allows excitation of localized surface plasmons and surface plasmon polaritons in multiple wavelengths leading to obvious absorption enhancements in a wide frequency range. Full wave simulations show that 109 % increase of the short-circuit current density for a 200 nm thick solar cell, is achievable by the proposed fractal back structure. The amount of light absorbed in the... 

Particulate back-reflector films are conventionally used for the improvement of light harvesting in dye solar cells (DSC). The back-reflection of the films is directly related to the scattering efficiency of the individual particles. Inspired by the idea of multilayer optical thin films, here it is demonstrated theoretically and experimentally that putting a SiO2 shell around spherical rutile-TiO2 particles leads to improved light scattering by the particles. These dielectric core-shells not only enhance the overall diffuse reflection of the films, but they also cause a relative improvement in the red and near infrared regions. Back-reflector films of these core-shell particles employed in... 

Nanostructured TiO2-Al2O3 films and powders were prepared by a straightforward aqueous particulate sol-gel route. Titanium (IV) isopropoxide and aluminum chloride were used as precursors, and hydroxypropyl cellulose was used as a polymeric fugitive agent in order to increase the porosity. The effect of Al:Ti molar ratio was studied on the crystallization behavior of the products. X-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed that the powders crystallized at 800°C, containing anatase-TiO2, rutile-TiO2 and cubic-Al2O3 phases. Furthermore, it was found that Al2O3 retarded the anatase to rutile transformation. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) image showed that one of the smallest crystallite sizes was... 

The normal indentation of a rigid circular disk into the surface of a transversely isotropic half-space reinforced by a buried inextensible thin film is addressed. By virtue of a displacement potential function and the Hankel transform, the governing equations of this axisymmetric mixed boundary value problem are represented as a dual integral equation, which is subsequently reduced to a Fredholm integral equation of the second kind. Two important results of the contact stress distribution beneath the disk region as well as the equivalent stiffness of the system are expressed in terms of the solution of the Fredholm integral equation. When the membrane is located on the surface or at the... 

Indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films have been deposited using RF sputtering technique at different pressures, RF powers, and substrate temperatures. Variations in surface morphology, optical properties, and film resistances were measured and analyzed. It is shown that a very low value of sheet resistance (1.96 ω/sq.) can be achieved with suitable arrangement of the deposition experiments. First, at constant RF power, deposition at different pressure values is done, and the condition for achieving minimum sheet resistance (26.43 ω/sq.) is found. In the next step, different values of RF powers are tried, while keeping the pressure fixed on the previously found minimum point (1-2 Pa). Finally,... 

The low temperature perovskite-type calcium titanate (CaTiO3) thin films and powders with nanocrystalline and mesoporous structure were prepared by a straightforward particulate sol-gel route. The prepared sol had a narrow particle size distribution about 17 nm. X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy revealed that, the synthesized powders had highly pure and crystallized CaTiO3 structure with preferable orientation growth along (1 2 1) direction at 400-800 °C. The activation energy of crystal growth was calculated 5.73 kJ/mol. Furthermore, transmission electron microscope images showed that the average crystallite size of the powders annealed at 400 °C was around 3.5... 

The aim of current research is to investigate the substrate electropolishing effect on corrosion resistance of Ni-Mo thin films. For this purpose, corrosion resistance of coatings deposited on mild steel substrates, that was electropolished or mechanically polished, have been compared in 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution using potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The structural properties of Ni-Mo thin films were evaluated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and their morphology, microstructure and chemical composition were also investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). Temperature and acidity of deposition... 

The Multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT)/WO3 nanocomposite thin films with different MWCNT's weight percentages were prepared by sol-gel method as visible light induced photoanode in water splitting reaction. Weight percentage of MWCNT in the all nanocomposite thin films was confirmed by TGA/DSC analysis. According to XPS analysis, oxygenated groups at the surface of the MWCNT and stoichiometric formation of WO3 thin films were determined, while the crystalline structure of the nanocomposite samples was studied by XRD indicating (0 0 2) peak of MWCNT in the monoclinic phase of WO3. The influence of different weight percentage (wt%) of MWCNT on WO3 photoactivity showed that the electron... 

Tungsten oxide thin films (deposited by thermal evaporation or sol gel method) were used for photocatalytic reduction of graphene oxide (GO) platelets (synthesized through a chemical exfoliation method) on surface of the films under UV or visible light of the environment, in the absence of any aqueous ambient at room temperature. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) technique was employed to characterize surface morphology of the GO sheets and the tungsten oxide films. Moreover, using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), chemical state of the tungsten oxide films and the photocatalytic reduction of the GO platelets were quantitatively investigated. The better performance of the sol-gel tungsten... 

The present work studied bioactive coatings on the surface of ceramic biomaterials. Zirconia toughened alumina (ZTA) composites containing 15 mol.-%. Partially stabilised zirconia was prepared after 1 h sintering at 1550°C. Apatite layers were then coated onto the surfaces of composites by the biomimetic method using 1·5-2 multiply concentrations of simulated body fluid (SBF). Before treatment in SBFs, a sodium silicate layer was employed as nucleating agent to induce the formation of a calcium phosphate layer. The effect of immersion time on the morphology of the precipitate was monitored with a scanning electron microscope. X dot maps revealed that there is a relationship between...