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Walwil HM, Zhao Y, Koh YK. Accurate Thermal Conductivity Measurements of Porous Thin Films by Time-Domain Thermoreflectance. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2024; 16:2861-2867. [PMID: 38165223 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c13418] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2024]
Abstract
Accurate measurements of the thermal conductivity (κ) of porous thin films are still limited due to challenges to deposit flat and continuous metal transducers on porous samples, a necessity for many thermal measurement techniques for nanostructures. In this paper, we introduce an approach based on time-domain thermoreflectance (TDTR) to accurately and conveniently measure κ of porous thin films by transferring a flat and smooth metal film unto porous samples as the transducer for TDTR measurements. We demonstrate our approach by measuring κ of a series of microscale holey SiO2 films with diameters of 1-3.5 μm and porosity of 13-50%. To achieve a measurement uncertainty of <12%, we ensure that the metal transducer films are sufficiently stiff and establish good thermal contact with the holey SiO2 samples. Our κ measurements agree well with calculations of κ from effective medium theory. Our approach could provide a convenient way to further investigate the thermal transport properties of porous films.
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Affiliation(s)
- Husam M Walwil
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117576, Singapore
| | - Yunshan Zhao
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117583, Singapore
- Center for Quantum Transport and Thermal Energy Science (CQTES), School of Physics and Technology, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, P. R. China
| | - Yee Kan Koh
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117576, Singapore
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Köble K, Schilling M, Eifert L, Bevilacqua N, Fahy KF, Atanassov P, Bazylak A, Zeis R. Revealing the Multifaceted Impacts of Electrode Modifications for Vanadium Redox Flow Battery Electrodes. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2023; 15:46775-46789. [PMID: 37768857 PMCID: PMC10571042 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c07940] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2023] [Accepted: 09/06/2023] [Indexed: 09/30/2023]
Abstract
Carbon electrodes are one of the key components of vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs), and their wetting behavior, electrochemical performance, and tendency to side reactions are crucial for cell efficiency. Herein, we demonstrate three different types of electrode modifications: poly(o-toluidine) (POT), Vulcan XC 72R, and an iron-doped carbon-nitrogen base material (Fe-N-C + carbon nanotube (CNT)). By combining synchrotron X-ray imaging with traditional characterization approaches, we give thorough insights into changes caused by each modification in terms of the electrochemical performance in both half-cell reactions, wettability and permeability, and tendency toward the hydrogen evolution side reaction. The limiting performance of POT and Vulcan XC 72R could mainly be ascribed to hindered electrolyte transport through the electrode. Fe-N-C + CNT displayed promising potential in the positive half-cell with improved electrochemical performance and wetting behavior but catalyzed the hydrogen evolution side reaction in the negative half-cell.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kerstin Köble
- Helmholtz
Institute Ulm, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Helmholtzstraße 11, 89081 Ulm, Germany
| | - Monja Schilling
- Helmholtz
Institute Ulm, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Helmholtzstraße 11, 89081 Ulm, Germany
| | - László Eifert
- Helmholtz
Institute Ulm, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Helmholtzstraße 11, 89081 Ulm, Germany
| | - Nico Bevilacqua
- Helmholtz
Institute Ulm, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Helmholtzstraße 11, 89081 Ulm, Germany
| | - Kieran F. Fahy
- Department
of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Applied Science
& Engineering, University of Toronto, 5 King’s College Road, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G8, Canada
| | - Plamen Atanassov
- Department
of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California Irvine, 221 Engineering Service Rd., Irvine, California 92617, United States
| | - Aimy Bazylak
- Department
of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Applied Science
& Engineering, University of Toronto, 5 King’s College Road, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G8, Canada
| | - Roswitha Zeis
- Department
of Electrical, Electronics, and Communication Engineering, Faculty
of Engineering, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität
Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Cauerstraße 9, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
- Helmholtz
Institute Ulm, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Helmholtzstraße 11, 89081 Ulm, Germany
- Department
of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Applied Science
& Engineering, University of Toronto, 5 King’s College Road, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G8, Canada
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Joseph CH, Capoccia G, Lucibello A, Proietti E, Sardi GM, Bartolucci G, Marcelli R. Fabrication of Ultra-Sharp Tips by Dynamic Chemical Etching Process for Scanning Near-Field Microwave Microscopy. SENSORS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 23:3360. [PMID: 36992071 PMCID: PMC10056389 DOI: 10.3390/s23063360] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2023] [Revised: 03/10/2023] [Accepted: 03/20/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
This work details an effective dynamic chemical etching technique to fabricate ultra-sharp tips for Scanning Near-Field Microwave Microscopy (SNMM). The protruded cylindrical part of the inner conductor in a commercial SMA (Sub Miniature A) coaxial connector is tapered by a dynamic chemical etching process using ferric chloride. The technique is optimized to fabricate ultra-sharp probe tips with controllable shapes and tapered down to have a radius of tip apex around ∼1 μm. The detailed optimization facilitated the fabrication of reproducible high-quality probes suitable for non-contact SNMM operation. A simple analytical model is also presented to better describe the dynamics of the tip formation. The near-field characteristics of the tips are evaluated by finite element method (FEM) based electromagnetic simulations and the performance of the probes has been validated experimentally by means of imaging a metal-dielectric sample using the in-house scanning near-field microwave microscopy system.
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Affiliation(s)
- C. H. Joseph
- Institute for Microelectronics and Microsystems, National Research Council (CNR-IMM), Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, 00133 Rome, Italy
- Department of Electronic Engineering, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Via del Politecnico 1, 00133 Rome, Italy
| | - Giovanni Capoccia
- Institute for Microelectronics and Microsystems, National Research Council (CNR-IMM), Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, 00133 Rome, Italy
| | - Andrea Lucibello
- Institute for Microelectronics and Microsystems, National Research Council (CNR-IMM), Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, 00133 Rome, Italy
| | - Emanuela Proietti
- Institute for Microelectronics and Microsystems, National Research Council (CNR-IMM), Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, 00133 Rome, Italy
| | - Giovanni Maria Sardi
- Institute for Microelectronics and Microsystems, National Research Council (CNR-IMM), Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, 00133 Rome, Italy
| | - Giancarlo Bartolucci
- Department of Electronic Engineering, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Via del Politecnico 1, 00133 Rome, Italy
| | - Romolo Marcelli
- Institute for Microelectronics and Microsystems, National Research Council (CNR-IMM), Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, 00133 Rome, Italy
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Surface Properties of Graffiti Coatings on Sensitive Surfaces Concerning Their Removal with Formulations Based on the Amino-Acid-Type Surfactants. Molecules 2023; 28:molecules28041986. [PMID: 36838974 PMCID: PMC9958821 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28041986] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2023] [Revised: 02/15/2023] [Accepted: 02/17/2023] [Indexed: 02/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Water-in-oil (w/o) nanoemulsions stabilized with amino acid surfactants (AAS) are one example of nanotechnology detergents of the "brush on, wipe off"-type for removing graffiti coatings from different sensitive surfaces. The high-pressure homogenization (HPH) process was used to obtain the nanostructured fluids (NSFs), including the non-toxic and eco-friendly components such as AAS, esterified vegetable oils, and ethyl lactate. The most effective NSF detergent was determined by response surface methodology (RSM) optimization. Afterwards, several surface properties, i.e., topography, wettability, surface free energy, and the work of water adhesion to surfaces before and after their coverage with the black graffiti paint, as well as after the removal of the paint layers by the eco-remover, were determined. It was found that the removal of graffiti with the use of the NSF detergent is more dependent on the energetic properties and microporous structure of the paint coatings than on the properties of the substrates on which the layers were deposited. The use of NSFs and knowledge of the surface properties could enable the development of versatile detergents that would remove unwanted contamination from various surfaces easily and in a controlled way.
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