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Abstract: Vapor phase growth of gold, nickel and titanium metal nanoparticles on multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) buckypaper by sputtering was investigated. The size and distribution of nanoparticles was dependent on the intrinsic binding energy of the metal elements, but could be altered to mimic that of metals with different binding energies by in situ modification of the MWCNT surfaces by energetic metal ions or annealing of the buckypaper. A range of average gold particle diameters from approximately 5–30nm could be produced depending on the intrinsic sputter process parameters (especially metal ion flux and kinetic energy) and defect density of the MWCNT surfaces, which could also be controlled by annealing prior to sputtering. The diameter of the MWCNTs had a significant influence on the geometry of the nanoparticles. Particles were elongated along the nanotube axis for tube diameters <30nm. Remarkably strong alignment of the particles along the nanotube axis was observed, especially for MWCNTs with higher defect densities. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is the clinical hepatic expression of metabolic syndrome. The prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is around 20–30%, and with a rapid increase in the metabolic risk factors in the general population, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease has become the most common cause of liver disease worldwide. A fraction (20–30%) of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease patients develop a potentially progressive hepatic disorder, namely non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, leading to end-stage liver disease. The pathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is not entirely understood, and even if insulin resistance is a major pathogenetic key, many other factors are implicated in both liver fat accumulation and disease progression to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. In this review we aim to examine the literature, principally concerning human non-alcoholic fatty liver disease pathogenesis, and to identify the newest, most promising clinical and basic research data. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) nanocomposite coatings consisting of silver and molybdenum were produced by a hybrid process of filtered vacuum arc, magnetron sputtering and pulsed laser depositions for tribological investigations at different temperatures. The coatings with 24at.% Ag and 10at.% Mo contents showed a friction coefficient of 0.4 or less for all temperatures from 25 to 700°C. The wear scar surfaces and coating cross-sections were studied using scanning electron, transmission electron, scanning transmission electron and focused ion beam microscopes, which also provided the information on chemical composition distributions of silver and molybdenum along with microstructure features. It was demonstrated that silver diffusion and coalescence on surfaces played an important part in the high-temperature lubrication mechanism of the YSZ–Ag–Mo coatings. Silver was found to be an effective lubricant at temperatures below 500°C and its coalescence on the surface isolated molybdenum inside coatings from ambient oxygen. Lubricious oxides of molybdenum were formed and lubricated at temperatures above 500°C when the silver was worn off the contact surface. For silver containment inside the coating at high temperatures, a multilayer architecture was built by inserting a TiN diffusion barrier layer in the composite coatings. Microscopic observations showed that this barrier layer prevented silver exit to the coating surface. At the same time, this enabled a subsequent lateral lubricant supply toward a wear scar location where the diffusion barrier layer was worn through and/or for a next thermal cycle. The multilayer coating maintained a friction coefficient of 0.4 or less for more than 25,000 cycles, while the monolithic coating lasted less than 5000 cycles. In addition, a TiN surface barrier layer with pinholes was deposited on the YSZ–Ag–Mo composite surface to control vertical silver diffusion. With this coating design, the coating wear lifetime was significantly increased beyond 50,000 cycles. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The effect of V additions on reactively magnetron sputtered ZrO2 coatings was investigated with respect to their structural and mechanical properties. Coatings with different V-contents were co-sputtered from Zr and V targets using an Ar+O2 discharge. The X-ray diffraction patterns show a change from monoclinic (0–2.2at.% V) to cubic/tetragonal ZrO2 based phase (5.8at.% V) and finally X-ray amorphous structure at even higher V-content (17.4at.% V). Hardness and Young's modulus decrease beyond 5.8at.% V from 17.4 to 7.5GPa and from 230 to 150GPa, respectively. At 25°C, the coefficient of friction (COF) is ~0.2 for low V-contents and above 0.5 for high V-contents, respectively. Differential scanning calorimetry of powder samples showed a characteristic exothermic peak at ~600°C, which is due to the formation of the ZrV2O7 phase. This phase decomposes above 740°C in ZrO2 and liquid V2O5. The latter phase provides a self-lubricious layer in the sliding contact, decreasing the COF below 0.2 at 800°C for V-contents of 17.4at.%. The endothermic nature of melting of the V2O5 phase is suggested as the basis for thermal management abilities of tribological coatings, where the frictional heat generated in severely loaded sliding contacts and thus local flash temperatures are efficiently reduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Accurate prediction of heat transfer from micro and nanoscale devices is very important for their operation and reliability. While the general consensus is that the heat transfer coefficient increases at the smaller scales, the literature also indicates contradiction in the scaling across length scales. In this paper, we present an experimental technique to accurately characterize heat transfer from micro to nano scales using infrared microscopy on nanofabricated specimens that are integrated with micro heaters. The heat transfer coefficient for quiescent air is found to be about two orders of magnitude higher than its bulk counterpart. It also showed pronounced inversely proportional relationship with temperature and suggested that solid to air conduction is the dominant mode of heat transfer. It was found that pressure only indirectly influences heat transfer. Based on the experimental data, we present an empirical relationship for the heat transfer coefficient that depends on the ratio of the surface area to cross-sectional area, temperature of the heated solid and its proximity to other solid bodies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Molecular dynamics is used to study the interfacial thermal conductance between graphitic structures and metals. It is shown that with different metals, the conductance can vary by ∼4-fold, allowing the control of thermal transport in nanocomposites and nanoelectronic devices. The experimental values of conductance are higher by 10–20MWm−2 K−1 compared to simulations. We suggest that in addition to lattice vibrations, an electromagnetic coupling between Johnson–Nyquist electric currents in the metal and graphite may contribute to the interfacial thermal conductance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Tungsten is an important material for energy harvesting applications due to its high chemical and thermal stability; however, the difficulty in obtaining single-crystal films leads to a large variation in the optical properties. The present work focuses on the radiative and optical properties of thin tungsten films at wavelengths from 1 to 20μm (wavenumbers from 10,000 to 500cm−1), considering microstructural variations. Four films of a nominal thickness of 70nm were deposited on silicon substrates using DC magnetron sputtering, and the effect of pre- and post-deposition treatments was investigated. Several analytical instruments were used to characterize the crystalline phases and microstructures, including X-ray diffraction, Rutherford backscattering, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. The transmittance and reflectance of the film–substrate composites were measured at room temperature using a Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer. The dielectric function of each sample was obtained by fitting the measured radiative properties using the Drude–Lorentz dispersion model. The difference in the radiative properties between samples was analyzed and related to the crystalline phases and density. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Hafnium oxide (HfO2 or hafnia) holds promise as a high-index dielectric in optical devices and thermal barrier coatings, because of its transparency over a broad spectrum (from the ultraviolet to the mid-infrared) and chemical and thermal stability at high temperatures. In the present work, thin hafnia films of thicknesses from about 180 to 500nm are deposited on Si substrates using reactive magnetron sputtering. The crystalline structure and surface topography are characterized by X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy, respectively. The optical and radiative properties of the film–substrate composites are measured at room temperature using spectroellipsometry and Fourier-transform infrared spectrometry. The optical constants are obtained from about 0.37 to 500μm by fitting suitable models to the experimental results. Optical properties and dielectric function modeling are discussed with correlation to both film thickness and surface roughness. It is found that a single-oscillator dielectric-function model can describe radiative properties from about 1 to 20μm. By combining Cauchy''s formula (for the visible and near-infrared regions) with a multiple-oscillator Lorentz model (for the far-infrared region), a dielectric function is obtained for the HfO2 films that is applicable from the visible to the far-infrared. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A two-phase nanocomposite coating that consists of inclusions of silver in a vanadium nitride matrix (VN/Ag) was investigated as a potential adaptive coating with a reduced friction coefficient from 25 to 1000°C. This nanocomposite structure was selected based on the premise that silver and silver vanadate phases would form on the surface of these coatings, reducing their friction coefficient in the (i) room to mid-range and (ii) mid-range to high temperatures, respectively. Silver and vanadium were expected to react with oxygen at high temperatures and create a lubricious silver vanadate film on the coating. The VN/Ag coatings were deposited using unbalanced magnetron sputtering and their elemental composition was evaluated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The tribological properties of the materials against Si3N4 balls were investigated at different temperatures. The lowest friction coefficients recorded for samples with identical compositions were 0.35, 0.30, 0.10 and 0.20 at 25, 350, 700 and 1000°C, respectively. Post-wear testing Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements revealed the formation of silver vanadate compounds on the surface of these coatings. In addition, real time Raman spectroscopy and high temperature XRD revealed that silver vanadate, vanadium oxide and elemental silver formed on the surface of these coatings upon heating to 1000°C. Upon cooling, silver and vanadium oxide were found to combine at about 400°C, leading predominantly to the formation of silver vanadate phases on the surface of these materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Double oxide phases combining a transition metal and a noble metal have recently become a subject of investigation as solid lubricant materials for high-temperature tribological applications. Here, we study the changes in chemistry and crystal structure of silver molybdate (Ag2Mo2O7) and silver tungstate (Ag2WO4) thin films and powders from 25 to 600°C. We show, using ab initio molecular dynamics, high-temperature X-ray diffraction, high-temperature Raman spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry in combination with sliding tests, that the layered atomic structure of silver molybdate facilitates sliding, resulting in a low coefficient of friction (<0.2) from 300 to 500°C. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Adaptive nanocomposite Mo2N/MoS2/Ag coatings were deposited on Inconel and silicon substrates by magnetron sputtering with individual targets of Mo, MoS2 and Ag. The tetragonal β-Mo2N structure in addition to Ag and MoS2 phases were detected using X-ray diffraction. The elemental composition of the coatings was investigated using Auger electron spectroscopy. The tribological properties of the coatings were studied at room temperature (RT), 350, and 600 °C against Si3N4 balls. The lowest friction coefficients that were obtained were 0.4, 0.3, and 0.1 at RT, 350 °C, and 600 °C, respectively. The average friction coefficient was maintained at 0.1 for more than 300,000 cycles at 600 °C due to the formation of lubricious silver molybdate phases at the contact surfaces. Three types of silver molybdate phases were detected by both X-ray diffraction and micro-Raman spectroscopy in the wear tracks, namely, Ag2Mo4O13, Ag2Mo2O7 and Ag2MoO4 depending on the Mo and Ag contents in the coatings. The superior performance of all three compounds is due to their layered structure with weaker Ag–O bridging bonds. These relatively weak bonds may shear or even break easily at high temperatures to account for the observed friction reduction. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]