Surface heterogeneity, particularly shape and size of pores on the surface of activated carbon spheres were studied by using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and field-emission type scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). Spheres were carbonized either in N2 or CO2 atmosphere and oxidized ones were used as samples. A new numerical method based on the determination of contour maps from STM images was proposed in order to determine the size distribution in micropores. These results were discussed with respect to the adsorption of gas and liquid molecules. A good correlation between Brunaner, Emmett, and Teller (BET) surface area determined from adsorption isotherms of N2 at 77 K and the number of pores with the size of 0.5–1.8 nm was observed, indicating that the proposed procedure to analyze the pore size distribution is effective.

The effects of solute drag on grain growth kinetics were studied in two-dimensional (2D) computer simulations by using a diffuse-interface field model. It is shown that, in the low velocity/low driving force regime, the velocity of a grain boundary motion departs from a linear relation with driving force (curvature) with solute drag. The nonlinear relation of migration velocity and driving force comes from the dependence of grain boundary energy and width on the curvature. The growth exponent m of power growth law for a polycrystalline system is affected by the segregation of solutes to grain boundaries. With the solute drag, the growth exponent m can take any value between 2 and 3, depending on the ratio of lattice diffusion to grain boundary mobility. The grain size and topological distributions are unaffected by solute drag, which are the same as those in a pure system.

A resonant Raman study of polyparaphenylene (PPP) prepared by the Kovacic and the Yamamoto methods and heat-treated at temperatures THT between 650 and 750°C has been performed using different laser excitation energies Elaser between 1.92 and 3.05 eV. For samples treated at low THT, the Raman spectra change with Elaser, and this behavior is ascribed to the coexistence of two forms of the PPP polymer (benzenoid and quinoid) as well as a disordered carbon material. For higher THT samples, only a dispersion of the position of the Raman band as a function of Elaser is observed, and this is explained as due to the carbonization of the original polymer. The transition temperature between these two regions of resonance behavior is lower for the Yamamoto-PPP samples than for the Kovacic-PPP samples.

High-quality epitaxial or highly textured NiO thin films can be grown at temperatures of 400–750°C by low-pressure metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) on MgO, SrTiO3, C-cut sapphire, as well as on single crystal and highly textured Ni (200) metal substrates using Ni(dpm)2 (dpm – dipivaloylmethanate) as the volatile precursor and O2 or H2O as the oxidizer/protonolyzer. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive detection (SEM/EDX), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) confirm that the O2-derived NiO films are smooth and that the quality of the epitaxy can be improved by decreasing the growth temperature and/or the precursor flow rate. However, low growth temperatures (400–500 °C) lead to rougher surfaces and carbon contamination. The H2O-derived NiO films, which can be obtained only at relatively high temperatures (650–750 °C), exhibit slightly broader ω scan full width half-maximum (FWHM) values and rougher surfaces but no carbon contamination. Using H2O as the oxidizer/protonolyzer, smooth and highly textured NiO (111) films can be grown on easily oxidized single crystal and highly textured Ni (200) metal substrates, which is impossible when O2 is the oxidizer. The textural quality of these films depends on both the quality of the metal substrates and the gaseous precursor flow rate.

B–C–N compounds were prepared on molybdenum by means of bias-assisted hot filament chemical vapor deposition (HFCVD). Effect of the substrate temperature (Ts) on the growth of B–C–N films has been investigated systematically by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) based on the detailed analysis and calculation of the XPS. The substrate temperature plays a key role in the formation of the bonding states, the composition, and the surface morphology. Boron carbonitride is the main phase at all depositing temperatures, and the obtained compounds are as follows: B0.83C0.17 + B0.39C0.35N0.26 at 873 K, B0.30C0.34N0.36 at 973 K, B0.64C0.36 + B0.51C0.23N0.26 at 1073 K, B0.51C0.31N0.18 at 1173 K, and B0.37C0.54N0.09 at 1273 K.

This paper presents a model to evaluate quantitatively the adhesion of diamond coating according to indentation tests. It is found that small indentation load causes round spallation of the coating, no matter what the shape of the indenter. An exponential sink-in deformation of the coating under the indentation is proposed [y = −a × exp(−bx)]. The deformation stress at the spallation edge is considered the coating adhesion. Using an experimentally observed relation of the indentation load versus the film spallation radius, we evaluate the adhesion of a diamond coating on copper to be about 1.921–1.956 GPa, which is in agreement with thermal quench results. The validity of this model is also verified by its self-consistence.

Electrodeposited Ni and Ni-diamond composite layers were used as diffusion barriers for Fe to facilitate the diamond growth on stainless steel substrates. Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy show the formation of good quality diamond crystallites by chemical vapor deposition. X-ray diffraction results indicate that the expansion of Ni unit cell has taken place due to the formation of the Ni–C solid solution. This observation is also well supported by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies. The lattice constant of the expanded Ni unit cell matches closely with the diamond, and this may be helpful in explaining the epitaxial growth of diamond on single-crystal Ni observed by others.

In this paper, we report our findings in the deposition of carbon nitride by radio-frequency–plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (RF-PECVD) at temperatures slightly above room temperature (RT) and pressures of 800 mTorr using NH3 and C2H4 as source gases. The variation of the NH3/C2H4 source gas ratio and rf power is shown to affect the N/C ratio and sp3/sp2 ratio in a reproducible manner. An NyC ratio as high as 1.17 has been obtained under optimized growth conditions of NH3/C2H4 ratio of 7.3 and rf power of 90 W. X-ray diffraction (XRD) indicates the presence of microcrystalline carbon nitride in an amorphous CNx matrix with preferred orientation along the (100) direction. X-ray photoelectron microscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) studies show that our assignment of the XPS peaks and FTIR absorption bands are mutually consistent and in good agreement with published data. Both methods of analysis show the increase in the sp3 component with increase in N incorporation in the film.

Inelastic neutron scattering is applied for the first time to monitor directly the concentration of calcium hydroxide formed during the hydration of tricalcium silicate. Results taken between 10 and 40 °C show that the onset of calcium hydroxide formation is delayed at lower temperatures but that the final quantity formed appears to be converging to a temperature-independent value. At 20°C, the 28 day value is 1.3 moles per mole of tricalcium silicate. Combining these results with previous measurements of the free water index made using quasielastic neutron scattering reveals that the hydrogen content of the C–S–H gel decreases significantly at increased curing temperature.