TY - JOUR A1 - Unger, Wolfgang A1 - Khani, M. A1 - Mehdipour, E. A1 - Faghani, A. A1 - Guday, G. A1 - Donskyi, Ievgen A1 - Haag, R. A1 - Adeli, M. T1 - Preparation of graphene oxide by cyanuric chloride as an effective and non-corrosive oxidizing agent N2 - In this work, we report a new method for the synthesis of graphene oxide (GO) using cyanuric chloride as a non-corrosive oxidizing agent. The mild conditions, simple purification, and scalability of this method are significant advantages over common approaches in which harsh oxidizing agents are used. Moreover, a major drawback with the Hummers' method, the production of toxic gases, is not an issue with this process. This method is a safe and large-scale alternative for the production of GO under mild conditions. KW - Graphene oxide KW - Synthesis KW - XPS KW - AFM KW - IR KW - TGA PY - 2016 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/c6ra23702a SN - 2046-2069 VL - 6 IS - 116 SP - 115055 EP - 115057 PB - The Royal Society of Chemistry AN - OPUS4-39111 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kim, K. J. A1 - Kim, A. S. A1 - Jang, J. S. A1 - Suh, J. K. A1 - Wirth, Thomas A1 - Hodoroaba, Vasile-Dan A1 - Unger, Wolfgang A1 - Araujo, J. R. A1 - Archanjo, B. S. A1 - Galhardo, C. E. A1 - Damasceno, J. A1 - Achete, C. A. A1 - Wang, H. A1 - Wang, M. A1 - Bennett, J. A1 - Simons, D. A1 - Kurokawa, A. A1 - Terauchi, S. A1 - Fujimoto, T. A1 - Streeck, C. A1 - Beckhoff, B. A1 - Spencer, S. A1 - Shard, A. T1 - Measurement of mole fractions of Cu, In, Ga and Se in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 films N2 - CCQM key comparison K-129 for the quantitative analysis of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) films has been performed by the Surface Analysis Working Group (SAWG) of the Consultative Committee for Amount of Substance (CCQM). The objective of this key comparison is to compare the equivalency of the National Metrology Institutes (NMIs) and Designated Institutes (DIs) for the measurement of mole fractions of Cu, In, Ga and Se in a thin CIGS film. The measurand of this key comparison is the average mole fractions of Cu, In, Ga and Se of a test CIGS alloy film in the unit of mole fraction (mol/mol). Mole fraction with the metrological unit of mol/mol can be practically converted to atomic fraction with the unit of at%. In this key comparison, a CIGS film with certified mole fractions was supplied as a reference specimen to determine the relative sensitivity factors (RSFs) of Cu, In, Ga and Se. The mole fractions of the reference specimen were certified by isotope dilution - inductively coupled plasma/mass spectrometry (ID-ICP/MS) and are traceable to the SI. A total number counting (TNC) method was recommended as a method to determine the signal intensities of the constituent elements acquired in the depth profiles by Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES). Seven NMIs and one DI participated in this key comparison. The mole fractions of the CIGS films were measured by depth profiling based-SIMS, AES and XPS. The mole fractions were also measured by non-destructive X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) Analysis and Electron Probe Micro Analysis (EPMA) with Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectrometry (EDX). In this key comparison, the average degrees of equivalence uncertainties for Cu, In, Ga and Se are 0.0093 mol/mol, 0.0123 mol/mol, 0.0047 mol/mol and 0.0228 mol/mol, respectively. These values are much smaller than that of Fe in a Fe-Ni alloy film in CCQM K-67 (0.0330 mol/mol). This means that the quantification of multi-element alloy films is possible by depth profiling analysis using the TNC method. KW - CIGS KW - Key comparison KW - CCQM KW - SIMS KW - XPS KW - AES KW - XRF KW - EPMA PY - 2016 UR - http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0026-1394/53/1A/08011 DO - https://doi.org/10.1088/0026-1394/53/1A/08011 SN - 0026-1394 SN - 1681-7575 VL - 53, Technical Supplement SP - Article 08011, 1 EP - 19 PB - IOP Publishing AN - OPUS4-38110 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Unger, Wolfgang A1 - Pelster, A. A1 - Tyler, B.J. A1 - Kösgen, M. A1 - Kassenböhmer, R. A1 - Peterson, R.E. A1 - Stöver, M. A1 - Arlinghaus, H. F. T1 - Improved 3D-imaging of a sirolimus/probucol eluting stent coating using laser postionization secondary neutral mass spectrometry and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry N2 - Implantable drug delivery systems that provide controlled and sustained release of a therapeutic agent are used in a wide variety of applications. Drug eluting stents, which are used to treat coronary artery disease, are among the most widespread of these devices, with an estimated 3x10⁶ implants annually worldwide. Controlling the rate of drug release from these devices relies on precise control of the three dimensional (3D)-distribution of the drug, so methods for measuring this distribution are of great importance. The aims of this work were to determine how 3D-imaging of polymer-free sirolimus/probucol drug eluting stent coatings could be improved through the use of laser postionization secondary neutral mass spectrometry (Laser- SNMS) and Ar cluster sputtering with time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) and to optimize conditions for this analysis. In this study, 3D-imaging of a sirolimus/probucol dual drug eluting stent has been investigated using Laser-SNMS and ToF-SIMS. Laser-SNMS studies of pure sirolimus and probucol were undertaken using 30 keV Bi₃⁺ primary Ions and a 157 nm excimer postionization laser. Under optimal conditions, a greater than 100-fold increase in detected ion yield was observed for Laser-SNMS when compared to ToF-SIMS, although ToF-SIMS provided equal or greater yields for higher mass characteristic ions. Although the optimal laser power density for detecting probucol (5x10⁶W/cm²) was significantly lower than the optimum for sirolimus(7x10⁷W/cm²), an intermediate laser power density of 1x10⁷W/cm² was sufficient to allow imaging of both drugs. Using individual selected ion signals, ToF-SIMS and Laser-SNMS produced similar images of the two drug species. When using, however, a multivariate approach (Maximum autocorrelation factors), Laser-SNMS provided significant improvements in image contrast and small area detection when compared to ToF-SIMS. Following optimization of the technique, 3D-images of the dual drug eluting stent coating were obtained using 10 keV Ar₂₀₀₀⁺ cluster ions for sputtering and 30 keV Bi₃⁺ cluster ions for Analysis for both ToF-SIMS and Laser-SNMS. This work demonstrates the advantages of Laser-SNMS for 3D-imaging of pharmaceutical devices, which has not been previously published. Both ToF-SIMS and Laser-SNMS revealed that the outermost surface of the drug eluting coating contained pure sirolimus to a depth of a few tens of nanometers, with a few channels of sirolimus extending to a depth of around 1 lm. Below about 1 lm, the two drugs were uniformly mixed. Using the 10 keV Ar₂₀₀₀⁺ sputter beam, the authors were able to sputter through the complete drug coating (~6 μm) without observing any accumulated damage in the organic layer. The two techniques showed complementary strengths: ToF-SIMS offers faster data collection and better detected ion yield for larger characteristic ions than Laser-SNMS, and Laser-SNMS offers significantly enhanced detected ion yield for smaller fragment ions, allowing for improved Image contrast and Resolution of smaller features. KW - Imaging ToF SIMS KW - Eluting stent PY - 2016 DO - https://doi.org/10.1116/1.4964687 SN - 1934-8630 SN - 1559-4106 VL - 11 IS - 4 SP - 041001-1 EP - 041001-10 PB - AVS: Science & Technology of Materials, Interfaces, and Processing AN - OPUS4-38272 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kovacevic, E. A1 - Strunskus, T. A1 - Santhosh, N. M. A1 - Zavasnik, Z. A1 - Unger, Wolfgang A1 - Sauvage, T. A1 - Ammar, M.-R. A1 - Cvelbar, U. A1 - Berndt, J. T1 - Thermal stability studies of plasma deposited hydrogenated carbon nitride nanostructures N2 - Thermally stable carbon nitride nanostructures have potential applications in surface coatings and automotive fields. In this work, hydrogenated nitrogen-rich carbon nitride nanoparticles have been synthesised via low-pressure low-power plasma vapour deposition technique from methane/Nitrogen gas mixture in a dry process. Thermal stability of the initially prepared hydrogenated carbon Nitride structures has been analysed by near-edge X-ray absorption fine-structure spectroscopy (NEXAFS, insitu), Raman spectroscopy, scanning and transmission electron microscopy and nuclear reaction Analysis (NRA). Thermal studies reveal the excellent stability of the material and nitrogen-rich characteristics (N/C ratio 0.5e0.2 ± 0.01). The obtained results suggest transformation of sp3-rich as-deposited carbon Nitride into sp2-carbon phase with more graphitic features upon thermal annealing. Such in-situ thermal studies of plasma deposited carbon nitrides confirm the conversion of sp3-rich phase to sp2-rich carbon phase at the critical temperature (about 450 K), without a huge loss in nitrogen content. The analysis revealed that the material is a stable plasma deposit after this critical temperature up to >1100 K. Additionally, super hydrophilic carbon nitride nanostructure transforms into a hydrophobic surface after thermal annealing. These thermally stable hydrophobic carbon nitride nanoparticles could be used as a promising material for the hydrophobic coatings for various applications, especially for harsh conditions. KW - Carbon nanoparticles KW - Hydrogenated nanostructures KW - Plasma deposition KW - NEXAFS KW - Thermal annealing PY - 2021 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-536163 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbon.2021.08.008 SN - 0008-6223 VL - 184 SP - 82 EP - 90 PB - Elsevier Ltd. AN - OPUS4-53616 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -