Polarity control of GaN epilayers grown on ZnO templates

We report the successful growth of Ga-polar GaN epilayers on O-polar ZnO templates pre-deposited on c-sapphire. Prior to GaN growth, NH₃ is exposed onto the ZnO template. The polarity of the GaN layers is confirmed by etching of the surface and by conversion beam electron diffraction (CBED), while the O-polar ZnO is confirmed by CBED. It is suggested that the NH₃ pre-exposure helps form a Zn₃N₂ layer, which possesses inversion symmetry and inverts the crystal from anion polar to cation polar.     

Insight into the chemical reaction of CH2OH with NO: Formation of N-hydroxy formamide as an isocyanic acid precursor

This study has explored the potential energy surface on the chemical reaction of CH₂OH with NO by using ab initio calculation. We have found the new reaction pathway producing N-hydroxy formamide, which can further decompose to generate isocyanic acid as a reducing agent of hydrocarbons selective catalytic reduction.     

Effective dielectric constant of a medium with spherical inclusions

The Maxwell-Garnett theory is frequently used to predict the effective, or the average, dielectric constant of a mixture composed of spherical inclusions embedded in a host medium. This effective medium theory assumes that the volume fraction occupied by the spherical inclusions is small and that the size of the inclusions is small compared to the wavelength. Experiments using controlled samples have shown that the Maxwell-Garnett theory is applicable up to an inclusion volume fracton of 0.2. At higher volume fractions, the effective dielectric constant appears to be dependent on the inclusion sizes     

The effect of dopamine and PGI2 on indomethacin and alcohol-induced gastric lesions in rats of various ages in relation to gastric vascular permeability and HCl secretion

Gastric lesions induced by indomethacin (20 mg.kg-1 i.p.) and ethanol (1 ml 95% intragastrically) were studied in rats after a 24 hour fast. The size of gastric lesions was correlated with gastric HCl secretion and with gastric vascular permeability (determined from the Evan's blue concentration in the gastric tissue after its i.v. administration). These parameters were also studied in rats pretreated with either PGI2 (5 micrograms.kg-1) or dopamine (0.5 mg.kg-1). It was found that in 12-months old rats the gastric lesions were significantly higher compared with the 3-month old group. PGI2 and dopamine significantly decreased gastric lesions in the 3-month rats but not in 12-month old rats. Both indomethacin and ethanol increased gastric vascular permeability in both age groups. It was observed that the decrease of gastric lesions after pretreatment with PGI2 and dopamine in the 3-month old rats was followed with decreased gastric vascular permeability and HCl secretion. On the other hand the increased susceptibility of the gastric mucosa due to indomethacin in the 12-month old rats was followed by a decrease of HCl secretion. PGI2 or dopamine had any effect on the 12-month old rats. These results show that susceptibility of gastric mucosa to PGI2 and dopamine is dependent on age. (Fig. 3, Ref. 31.)     

Pore‐free mold‐pattern‐transfer method for barrier ribs of HD PDPs

Abstract— Among various barrier‐rib manufacturing processes, the mold‐pattern‐transfer method has potential to reduce processing cost as well as the manufacture of high‐resolution pixels. In this study, the effects of major processing variables of the mold‐pattern‐transfer process on the formation of air‐trapped pores within barrier ribs were examined. The results indicated that with an optimum combination of the processing variables, barrier ribs without trapped defects can be produced, demonstrating the possibility of reducing the number of processing steps and costs of barrier ribs.     

Characterisation and catalytic properties of MCM-41 and Pd/MCM-41 materials

Pure silica MCM-41 mesoporous molecular sieve material was synthesised and characterised by in situ synchrotron XRD, TEM, TGA/DTA and DRIFTS techniques. In situ energy dispersive XRD (EDXRD) confirmed the exact nature of the pore diameter of MCM-41 and the change in crystal structure on calcination. The IR band at 1057 cm^-1 of as-synthesised MCM-41 was shifted by 14 cm^-1 on heating to 673 K due to increased condensation of silanol groups to form Si-O-Si bridges. Calcined MCM-41 materials were used to support Pd, and the catalytic activities for 1-hexene and benzene selective hydrogenation were investigated. The Pd/MCM-41 catalyst showed high activity in hydrogenation of 1-hexene at an inlet reaction temperature of 298 K, but did not show any activity in hydrogenation for benzene. TEM results for the reduced Pd/MCM-41 catalysts revealed that the average Pd particle size was around 2-2.5 nm and these particles were located in the pores of MCM-41 and showed good distribution. TPR measurements showed that about 70% of palladium oxide (PdO) loading in the calcined catalysts was reduced at sub-ambient temperature. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Performance of fluorine-added CoMoS/Al2O3 prepared by sonochemical and chemical vapor deposition methods in the hydrodesulfurization of dibenzothiophene and 4,6-dimethyldibenzothiophene

The performance of a new type of CoMoS/Al₂O₃ catalyst, with added fluorine and prepared by sonochemical and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) methods, was investigated in the hydrodesulfurization (HDS) of dibenzothiophene (DBT) and 4,6-dimethyldibenzothiophene (4,6-DMDBT). The catalyst, which was designed to contain optimum amounts of fluorine and cobalt, exhibited a higher activity, ca. 4.6 times higher activity particularly in the HDS of 4,6-DMDBT, than a fluorine-free catalyst prepared by a conventional impregnation method. The enhanced activity of the new catalyst can be attributed to the cumulative effects of individual factors involved in the catalyst preparation. That is, the use of a sonochemical synthesis led to a high dispersion of small MoS₂ crystallites on the alumina, and the addition of the Co species to the catalyst by CVD caused a close interaction between the Co species and the MoS₂ crystallites to produce numerous CoMoS species, which are the catalytically active species for HDS. The addition of fluorine increased the amounts of acidic sites in the catalyst, which promoted hydrogenation (HYD) route to a greater extent than the direct desulfurization (DDS) route in DBT HDS and both HYD and DDS routes to similar extents in the case of 4,6-DMDBT HDS. Accordingly, the addition of fluorine led to a greater increase in catalytic activity for 4,6-DMDBT HDS than for DBT HDS.     

Biomimetic strain hardening in interpenetrating polymer network hydrogels

In this paper, we present the systematic development of mechanically enhanced interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) hydrogels with Young's moduli rivaling those of natural load-bearing tissues. The IPNs were formed by synthesis of a crosslinked poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) network within an end-linked poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) macromonomer network. The strain-hardening behavior of these PEG/PAA IPNs was studied through uniaxial tensile testing and swelling measurements. The interaction between the independently crosslinked networks within the IPN was varied by (1) changing the molecular weight of the PEG macromonomer, (2) controlling the degree of PAA ionization by changing pH, and (3) increasing the polymer content in the PAA network. Young's moduli and the maximum stress-at-break of the swollen hydrogels were normalized on the basis of their polymer content. Strain hardening in the IPNs exhibited a strong dependence on the molecular weight of the first network macromonomer, the pH of the swelling buffer, as well as the polymer content of the second network. The results indicate that the mechanical enhancement of these IPNs is mediated by the strain-induced intensity of physical entanglements between the two networks. The strain can be applied either by mechanical deformation or by changing the pH to modulate the swelling of the PAA network. At pHs below the pK_a of PAA (4.7), entanglements between PEG and PAA are reinforced by interpolymer hydrogen bonds, yielding IPNs with high fracture strength. At pHs above 4.7, a “pre-stressed” IPN with dramatically enhanced modulus is formed due to ionization-induced swelling of the PAA network within a static PEG network. The modulus enhancement ranged from two-fold to over 10-fold depending on the synthesis conditions used. Variation of the network parameters and swelling conditions enabled “tuning” of the hydrogels' physical properties, yielding materials with water content between 58% and 90% water, tensile strength between 2.0 MPa and 12.0 MPa, and initial Young's modulus between 1.0 MPa and 19.0 MPa. Under physiologic pH and salt concentration, these materials attain “biomimetic” values for initial Young's modulus in addition to high tensile strength and water content. As such, they are promising new candidates for artificial replacement of natural tissues such as the cornea, cartilage, and other load-bearing structures.