National Institute Of Materials Physics - Romania

Embedding silver (Ag) into CaPs one could expect the enhancement of the antimicrobial performances of coatings for load bearing implants. The aim of this research was to evaluate whether the cellular morphology is influenced by the variation of Ag content, as well as by the solubility and morphological features of Ag-containing CaP coatings obtained by combinatorial pulsed laser deposition technique. In this view, we developed compositional libraries of either Ag and hydroxyapatite (HA) or Ag and beta-tricalcium phosphate (beta-TCP). The Ag content along the length of the combinatorial CaP coatings increased up to a maximum of similar to 1 at.%. SEM and AFM images evidenced the abundant presence of particulates typical for CaP coatings deposited by PLD. AFM histograms showed that the samples were rough with RMS values within 61-209 nm range. Ag content values up to 0.6 at. % into HA coatings were found nontoxic for mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) growth.

We have obtained by Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS), dense samples of MgB2 added with Ho2O3. Starting composition was (MgB2)(0.975)(HoO1.5)(0.025) and we used addition powders with an average particle size below and above 100 nm. For Mg, pristine and added MgB2 samples we measured potentiodynamic polarization curves in Phosphate Buffered Saline (PBS) solution media at room temperature. MgB2 based composites show corrosion/degradation effects. This behavior is in principle similar to Mg based alloys in the same media. Our work suggests that the different morphologies and phase compositions of the SPS-ed samples influence the interaction with corrosion medium; hence additions can play an important role in controlling the corrosion rate. Pristine MgB2 show a significant improvement of the corrosion resistance, if compared with Mg. The best corrosion resistance is obtained for pristine MgB2, followed by MgB2 with nano-Ho2O3 and mu-Ho2O3 additions.

In this manuscript we present interesting scientific results following the physical characterization of thin polyaniline polymer films achieved by means of Glancing Angle Deposition (GLAD) method. Aniline monomer was used as precursor in a cold plasma polymerization chamber and the resulting thin films were investigated by various physical techniques (Atomic Force Microscopy - AFM and Scanning Electron Microscopy - SEM), while also considering their conductive electrical properties.

N-type P-doped silicon single crystals with resistivity higher than 8000 Omega cm were irradiated with I-127(6+) ions of 28 MeV kinetic energy. The penetration of the ions through the target and the processes of energy loss were simulated using the CTRIM Monte Carlo code, and point defect production was calculated in the frame of our diffusion-reaction model. Trapping phenomena were investigated using the method of thermally stimulated currents without applied bias. The modeling of the current-temperature curves takes into consideration both point defects and stress-type trapping centers, produced by the ions stopped into the crystal.

Mossbauer spectroscopy has (one of its most important features) the ability to simultaneously undertake bulk and surface analyses. It is a non-destructive technique that can be applied in situ to investigate surfaces of varying thickness using the secondary radiation emitted after resonant absorption of a gamma ray. A short description of the technique is presented. It allows a detailed analysis of the chemical state of Mossbauer atoms within the material, including valence state and chemical compound. Some applications of electron Mossbauer spectroscopy (CEMS), obtained in National Institute of Materials Physics are given. The experimental devices for surface studies are presented.

Improvements in automatic processing of movie frames taken on commercial Drop Shape Analysis systems are presented, regarding the use of particular edge detection algorithms that account for optical peculiarities of the drop image formed on digital video camera sensors. These improvements can lead to better measurements of contact angles for drop images that present spots of reflected light close to edge and in the case of very low contact angles.

This paper reports on the conduction mechanisms in amorphous SiO2 films with embedded Ge nanoparticles. For this, measurements of current-temperature and current-voltage were employed and correlated with the microstructure results obtained from transmission electron microscopy (TEM). TEM images reveal that our films contain big Ge nanoparticles with low density and small Ge nanoparticles with high density, the last ones being the only responsible for the electrical transport. Two transport mechanisms were found at low and high temperature respectively, namely hopping on localized states in a band near Fermi level and charge excitation to the extended states at mobility edge.

Based on first principles electronic structure calculations using the Coherent Potential Approximation (CPA) in the Blackman-Esterling-Berk (BEB) multiscattering formalism and the variable range hopping (VRH) model proposed by Mott, we evaluate the low temperature dc conductivity and its temperature dependence for n-doped wurtzite-type M:ZnO, with M = Al, Ti, Mn, at concentrations of 2, 5 and 10 at.% respectively. We theoretically determine the phenomenologic quantities in the expression of the hopping conductivity, as well as the temperature range in which the VRH model is applicable to the investigated compounds. We show that self-consistent CPA-BEB and LSDA+U calculations yield reasonable band gaps, dopant state localization and also spin magnetic moments for the Ti and Mn systems. These results are discussed in comparison with reported data obtained by supercell LSDA+U calculations for similar systems. The results in this study point to 2-5 at.% Ti and approximately 2 at.% Al codoping in wurtzite-type ZnO as an interesting option to obtain a material with an increased low temperature dc conductivity and ferromagnetic background. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license.

Inhibitive properties of the antibacterial sulfa drug sulfathiazole-IUPAC name being 4-amino-N-(1,3-thiazol-2-yl) benzene sulfonamide-on the corrosion of carbon steel in 1.0M HCl solution were investigated using weight loss measurements, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Sulfathiazole is a good adsorption inhibitor, and the inhibition efficiency increases with increasing concentration. Adsorption is spontaneous and is best described by Temkin isotherm. XPS analysis showed, at this stage, that the main product of corrosion is a nonstoichiometric Fe3+ oxide/oxyhydroxide consisting of a mixture of Fe2O3, alpha, and gamma-FeO(OH) and/or Fe(OH)(3), where alpha, gamma-FeO(OH) is the main phase.

This paper presents a new technique for investigating the modifications induced by high-density green light [GL] on water in NaCl solutions. Solutions of 0,45 g% and 0,9 g%, irradiated with green light (lambda = 527 nm, intensity 3.10(5) Lx) were used. As a receptor for measuring the irradiation effect we used red blood cell (RBC) permeability in hypotonic media, the so-called osmotic shock. After RBC lysis in hypotonic medium, the released hemoglobin was spectrophotometrically determined at lambda = 550 nm. The values of the osmotic shock for the samples obtained with GL-irradiated NaCl solutions were significantly lower than the values obtained with non-irradiated controls. This may indicate that the penetration of water inside the membranes canaliculi is hindered. This new type of result was complemented by chronoamperometry and impedance spectroscopy determinations. The current density of the irradiated solution decreases from the value of 29.5 mu A.cm(-2) in the control to 17.74 mu A.cm(-2) in the irradiated sample with a corresponding decrease of ionic mobility. The impedance value of the GL irradiated NaCl solutions were significantly lower than the control values, thus correlating well with the data recorded by chronoamperometry. All these data may indicate large water cluster formation through GL irradiation which are beyond the cellular aquaporine channels capacity. A similar process is identified by using red light, as well as blue light, though with a much smaller output.