We recently developed a vacuum assisted micelle confinement synthesis for spherical microparticles of CL-20 with outstanding monodispersity. These microparticles are promising energetic material for explosive devices with enhanced and predictable performances. In this work, to facilitate further development and application of this synthesis, the particle growth process was monitored by in-situ dynamic light scattering measurements. The result was interpreted by a finite element model to obtain critical parameters. These parameters were then used to predict the behavior and product quality of batch synthesis under various operation conditions.

Transparent optical ZnO–Bi2O3–B2O3 (ZBB) glass-ceramics were created by the melt quenching technique. In this work, a melt of the glass containing stoichiometric ratios of Zn/Bi/B and As was studied. Differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) measurements was used to measure the thermal behavior. VIS/NIR transmission measurements were used to determine the transmission window. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to determine crystal phase. In this study, we explore new techniques and report a detailed study of in-situ XRD of the ZBB composition in order to correlate nucleation temperature, heat treatment temperature, and heat treatment duration with induced crystal phase.

The procedure proposed is the express method for the study of anion distribution profiles in the anodic aluminum oxide film. The method consists in measuring the variation of the steady-state electrode potential during the oxide etching. It allows the influence of the initial aluminum composition, the electrolyte composition, anodization regimes, etc. on the characteristics of dense anodic alumina films to be studied. The method developed can be used to study a chemical evolution in anodic alumina formed to correlate with modelling and simulations across materials science disciplines.

Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) represents a promising anode material for lithium ion batteries, however, it suffers from limitations associated with poor intrinsic electron conductivity as well as moderate ionic conductivity. Hence, to achieve the goal of creating LTO anodes with improved high-rate performance, we have put forth a number of targeted fundamental strategies. Herein we discuss the roles of controllably tuning (i) morphology, (ii) attachment modalities of carbon, and (iii) ion doping of the LTO material. In addition, we also demonstrated in situ studies of lithiation-driven structural transformations in LTO via a combination of X-ray absorption spectroscopy and ab initio calculations, which have been proven to be powerful tools to probe the negligible volume change and extraordinary stability of LTO upon repeated charge/discharge cycles.

In battery systems, a solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) is formed through electrolyte reaction on an electrode surface. The formation of SEI can have both positive and negative effects on electrochemistry. The initial formation of the layer protects the electrode from further reactivity, which can improve both shelf and cycle life. However, if the layer continues to form, it can impede charge transfer, which increases cell resistance and limits cycle life. The role of SEI is particularly important when studying conversion electrodes, since phase transformations which unveil new electroactive surfaces during reduction/oxidation can facilitate electrolyte decomposition. This manuscript highlights recent developments in the understanding and control of SEI formation for magnetite (Fe3O4) conversion electrodes through electrolyte and electrode modification.

Environmental atomic force microscopy (AFM) study of brush macromolecules, polymer blends and bitumen was performed with regular and Quick Scan imaging. Condensation of different vapors on sample surface has induced swelling of hydrophilic domains that helps recognizing the components of heterogeneous compounds. High-resolution imaging of brush macromolecules was achieved in ethyl acetate vapor. Fast monitoring of aggregation/spreading of brush macromolecules revealed dynamics of conformational changes and molecular motion.

The main functions of the dynamic cantilever calibrator (DCC), which are related to characterization of AFM probes and instruments, are demonstrated on a variety of probes. The resonant frequency, Q-factor and spring constant of the rectangular and V-shaped probes were evaluated by thermal tune method. The inverse optical sensitivity and optical beam deflection noise, which define performance of AFM microscopes, were extracted from DCC data. Peculiarities of thermal tune studies and the use of DCC for advanced applications are discussed.

Imaging of nanoscale structures buried in a covering material is an extremely challenging task, but is also considered extremely important in a wide variety of fields. From fundamental research into the way living cells are built up to process control in semiconductor manufacturing would all benefit from the capability to image nanoscale structures through arbitrary covering layers. Combining Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) with ultrasound has been shown a promising technology to enable such imaging in various configurations. Here we report the development of an alternative method of combining AFM with ultrasound which we call SubSurface Ultrasonic Resonance Force Microscopy (SSURFM) and which is based on a combination of the two most common variants described in literature, which each have their specific strong points: Ultrasonic Force Microscopy (UFM) and Contact Resonance AFM (CR-AFM). We show the excellent performance of this combination on a number of samples designed specifically to mimic relevant conditions for the application as a metrology technique in the semiconductor manufacturing process. We also discuss the physics of the image contrast mechanism which is based on sensing local changes in visco-elastic properties of the sample bygenerating large indentations in the surface.