Carbon nanowall-based gas sensors for carbon dioxide gas detection

Carbon nanowalls (CNWs) have attracted significant attention for gas sensing applications due to their exceptional material properties such as large specific surface area, electric conductivity, nano- and/or micro-porous structure, and high charge carrier mobility. In this work, CNW films were synthesized and used to fabricate gas sensors for carbon dioxide (CO2) gas sensing. The CNW films were synthesized using an inductively-coupled plasma (ICP) plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) method and their structural and morphological properties were characterized using Raman spectroscopy and electron microscopy. The obtained CNW films were used to fabricate gas sensors employing interdigitated gold (Au) microelectrodes. The gas sensors were fabricated using both direct synthesis of CNW films on interdigitated Au microelectrodes on quartz and also transferring presynthesized CNW films onto interdigitated Au microelectrodes on glass. The CO2gas-sensing properties of fabricated devices were investigated for different concentrations of CO2gas and temperature-ranges. The sensitivities of fabricated devices were found to have a linear dependence on the concentration of CO2gas and increase with temperature. It was revealed that devices, in which CNW films have a maze-like structure, perform better compared to the ones that have a petal-like structure. A sensitivity value of 1.18% was obtained at 500 ppm CO2concentration and 100 °C device temperature. The CNW-based gas sensors have the potential for the development of easy-to-manufacture and efficient gas sensors for toxic gas monitoring.

Fabricating durable and stable superhydrophobic coatings by the atmospheric pressure plasma polymerisation of hexamethyldisiloxane

The paper was devoted to the results of the study of methods to obtain superhydrophobic film based on the plasma polymerisation of hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO) inside the plasma jet at atmospheric pressure. The 3D printing technology was intended for film deposition, which has the advantage of producing superhydrophobic surfaces over a wide range of scales. The effect of synthesis parameters on the hydrophobic properties of the film has been studied. The obtained superhydrophobic films demonstrated stability and resistance in chemical solutions, at high temperatures, under the influence of UV-irradiation and in various weather conditions. The results can be used in various fields, including automotive, construction, electronics, medicine and others, where surface protection against moisture, contamination and corrosion is required.

Synthesis and in situ oxidation of copper micro- and nanoparticles by arc discharge plasma in liquid

This work presents a one-step controlled method for the synthesis of copper oxide nanoparticles using an arc discharge in deionized water without subsequent thermal annealing. The synthesis conditions were varied by changing the arc discharge current from 2 to 4 A. Scanning electron microscopy images of samples synthesized at discharge current of 2 A revealed the formation of tenorite (CuO) nanopetals with an average length of 550 nm and a width of 100 nm, which had a large surface area. Arc discharge synthesis at 3 and 4 A current modes provides the formation of a combination of CuO nanopetals with spherical cuprite (Cu2O) nanoparticles with sizes ranging from 30 to 80 nm. The crystalline phase and elemental composition of the synthesized particles were identified by X-ray diffraction analysis, Raman spectroscopy and Energy dispersive analysis. As the arc discharge current was raised from 2 to 4 A, two notable changes occurred in the synthesized particles: the Cu/O ratio increased, and the particle sizes decreased. At 4 A, the synthesized particles were from 30 to 80 nm in size and had a spherical shape, indicating an increase in the amount of cuprite (Cu2O) phase. The optical band gap of the aqueous solutions of copper oxide particles also increased from 2 to 2.34 eV with increasing synthesis current from 2 to 4 A, respectively. This suggests that the proposed synthesis method can be used to tune the band gap of the final material by controlling the Cu/O ratio through the current of arc discharge. Overall, this work demonstrates a novel approach to the synthesis of copper oxide nanoparticles with controllable CuO/Cu2O/Cu ratios, which has the potential to be useful in a variety of applications, particularly due to the significant enhancement of photocatalytic abilities and widen the working spectral range.

Effect of Electron and Proton Irradiation on Structural and Electronic Properties of Carbon Nanowalls

In this work, a complex experimental study of the effect of electron and proton ionizing radiation on the properties of carbon nanowalls (CNWs) is carried out using various state-of-the-art materials characterization techniques. CNW layers on quartz substrates were exposed to 5 MeV electron and 1.8 MeV proton irradiation with accumulated fluences of 7 × 10¹³ e/cm² and 10¹² p/cm², respectively. It is found that depending on the type of irradiation (electron or proton), the morphology and structural properties of CNWs change; in particular, the wall density decreases, and the sp² hybridization component increases. The morphological and structural changes in turn lead to changes in the electronic, optical, and electrical characteristics of the material, in particular, change in the work function, improvement in optical transmission, an increase in the surface resistance, and a decrease in the specific conductivity of the CNW films. Lastly, this study highlights the potential of CNWs as nanostructured functional materials for novel high-performance radiation-resistant electronic and optoelectronic devices.

Efficient Recovery Annealing of the Pseudocapacitive Electrode with a High Loading of Cobalt Oxide Nanoparticles for Hybrid Supercapacitor Applications

Electrochemical pseudocapacitors, along with batteries, are the essential components of today's highly efficient energy storage systems. Cobalt oxide is widely developing for hybrid supercapacitor pseudocapacitance electrode applications due to its wide range of redox reactions, high theoretical capacitance, low cost, and presence of electrical conductivity. In this work, a recovery annealing approach is proposed to modify the electrochemical properties of Co₃O₄ pseudocapacitive electrodes. Cyclic voltammetry measurements indicate a predominance of surface-controlled redox reactions as a result of recovery annealing. X-ray diffraction, Raman spectra, and XPES results showed that due to the small size of cobalt oxide particles, low-temperature recovery causes the transformation of the Co₃O₄ nanocrystalline phase into the CoO phase. For the same reason, a rapid reverse transformation of CoO into Co₃O₄ occurs during in situ oxidation. This recrystallization enhances the electrochemical activity of the surface of nanoparticles, where a high concentration of oxygen vacancies is observed in the resulting Co₃O₄ phase. Thus, a simple method of modifying nanocrystalline Co₃O₄ electrodes provides much-improved pseudocapacitance characteristics.

The use of ultrapure molecular hydrogen enriched with atomic hydrogen in apparatuses of artificial lung ventilation in the fight against virus COVID-19

COVID-19 is a disease caused by the SARS-CoV virus. It stands for severe acute respiratory syndrome, which affects the lungs. The process of replication and progression of the COVID-19 virus causes the formation of an excessive amount of reactive oxygen species and inflammation. Many studies have been carried out that have demonstrated that hydrogen has strong anti-inflammatory properties. It reduces hypotension and other symptoms by reducing inflammation and oxidative stress. Oxygen mixture, enriched with Hydrogen, - helps to reduce the resistance of the respiratory tract and frees up access to the pulmonary alveolus, which improves the penetration of oxygen into the lungs. Since hydrogen is an antioxidant, it helps to reduce the burden on the immune system, helps to maintain the body's health and its ability to quickly recover. When electrolysers are used to produce an oxygen-hydrogen mixture, alkaline mist and other impurities can enter the patient's lungs and cause poisoning and chemical burns. For this reason, the use of atomic hydrogen obtained from metal hydride sources for ventilation of the lungs will be more effective for treating COVID-19 than a molecular hydrogen-oxygen mixture from an electrolyzer. A functional diagram of a metal hydride source of atomic hydrogen to an artificial lung ventilator is shown. It is possible to create a series of hydrogen storage tanks of various capacities.

Stabilization of the Surface of ZnO Films and Elimination of the Aging Effect

Zinc oxide is a promising multifunctional material. The practical use of nano- and polycrystalline ZnO devices faces a serious problem of instability of electrical and luminescent characteristics, due to the adsorption of oxygen by the surface during aging. In this paper, the aging effect in ZnO films and nanorod arrays was studied. It was found that ZnO samples demonstrate different behavior of the degradation process, which corresponds to at least two different types of adsorbing surface sites for O₂, where O₂ adsorption is of a different nature. The first type of surface sites is rapidly depassivated after hydrogen passivation and the aging effect takes place due to these centers. The second type of surface sites has a stable structure after hydrogen passivation and corresponds to HO-ZnO sites. The XPS components of these sites include the Zn2p_3/2 peak at 1022.2 ± 0.2 eV and Zn2p_1/2 peak at 1045.2 ± 0.2 eV, with a part of the XPS O1s peak at 531.5 ± 0.3 eV. The annealing transforms the first type of site into the second one, and the subsequent short-term plasma treatment in hydrogen results in steady passivation, where the degradation of characteristics is practically reduced to zero.

Multipole expansion in plasmas: Effective interaction potentials between compound particles

In this paper, the multipole expansion method is used to determine effective interaction potentials between particles in both classical dusty plasma and dense quantum plasma. In particular, formulas for interactions of dipole-dipole and charge-dipole pairs in a classical nondegenerate plasma as well as in degenerate quantum and semiclassical plasmas were derived. The potentials describe interactions between atoms, atoms and charged particles, dust particles in the complex plasma, atoms and electrons in the degenerate plasma, and metals. Correctness of the results obtained from the multipole expansion is confirmed by their agreement with the results based on other methods of statistical physics and dielectric response function. It is shown that the method of multipole expansion can be used to derive effective interaction potentials of compound particles, if the effect of the medium on the potential of individual particles comprising compound particles is known.

Effective potentials of interactions and thermodynamic properties of a nonideal two-temperature dense plasma

In this article a dense nonideal, nonisothermal plasma is considered. New effective screened interaction potentials taking into account quantum-mechanical diffraction and symmetry effects have been obtained. The effective potential of the ion-ion interaction in plasmas with a strongly coupled ion subsystem and semiclassical electron subsystem is presented. Based on the obtained effective potentials the analytical expressions for internal energy and the pressure of the considered plasma were obtained.