Ingenieurwissenschaften und zugeordnete Tätigkeiten
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Nanocomposites based on poly(L-lactide) (PLA) and organically modified Ni/Al layered double hydroxides (NiAl/LDHs) are prepared by melt blending and investigated by a combination of size exclusion chromatography, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), wide-angle X-ray scattering, and broadband dielectric spectroscopy. A detailed comparison to the behavior of the corresponding MgAl/LDH–PLA nanocomposites is made. SAXS investigations show that the morphology of the NiAl/LDH–PLA nanocomposites is more intercalated compared to the MgAl/LDH based PLA nanocomposite, which is more exfoliated. The DSC investigation gives a different dependence of the degree of crystallization on the concentration of LDH for NiAl/LDH–PLA than for MgAl/LDH–PLA nanocomposite system. These differences are discussed taking the differences of the morphologies of both systems into account. Broadband dielectric spectroscopy reveals information about the molecular dynamics where essential differences are observed for all relaxation processes taking place in both systems which were related to the different morphologies.
The quantum yield is a critically important parameter in the development of lanthanide-based upconverting nanoparticles (UCNPs) for use as novel contrast agents in biological imaging and optical reporters in assays. The present work focuses on the influence of the beam Profile in measuring the quantum yield (f) of nonscattering dispersions of nonlinear upconverting probes, by establishing a relation between f and excitation light power density from a rate equation analysis. A resulting 60% correction in the measured f due to the beam profile utilized for excitation underlines the significance of the beam profile in such measurements, and its impact when comparing results from different Setups and groups across the world.
In concrete elements, simultaneously subjected to cyclic loadings and external alkalis, the risk for damage caused by or under participation of an alkali-silica reaction (ASR) is particularly high. This is of particular concern for concrete pavements due to the increasing heavy vehicle traffic and the application of sodium chloride (NaCl) de-icer during winter. Since 2004, the climate simulation concrete prism test (CS-CPT) has been used successfully to evaluate job mixtures for pavements by considering the impact of alkali-containing de-icers. However, the role of mechanical predamage on ASR is largely unclear. In a joint research project, the CS-CPT has been used to investigate the influence of preexisting microcracks on ASR. It was evident that an ASR initiated earlier in the predamaged concrete prisms due to the more rapid ingress of NaCl solution through the microcracks.
Approximation of the crack driving force for cracks at notches under static and cyclic loading
(2017)
The work deals with the efficient calculation of the elastic-plastic crack driving force (J-integral for monotonic loading andΔJ-integral under cyclic loading) for short cracks at notches as essential parameter for the reliable static and fatigue assessment of notched structures. The J- or ΔJ-integral is calculated based on analytical solutions for stress intensity factors, estimated by means of well-known weight function solutions in the case of cracks under power-law stress distributions. A plasticity-correction function is applied to the stress intensity factors to obtain the final expression of the crack driving force. The comparison between analytical solutions and finite element calculations in case of cracks at the weld toe in welded joints shows good agreement.
One of the great strengths of X-ray computed tomography over conventional inspection methods (ultrasound, thermography, radiography) is that it can image damage in 3D. However for curved ordeformed composite panels it can be difficult to automatically ascribe the damage to specific plies or inter-ply interfaces. An X-ray computed tomography (CT) data processing methodology is developed to extract the through-thickness distribution of damage in curved or deformed composite panels. The method is applied to [(0°/90°)2]s carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) panels subjected low velocity impact damage (5 J up to 20 J) providing 3D ply-by-ply damage visualisation and analysis. Our distance transform approach allows slices to be taken that approximately follow the composite curvature allowing the impact damage to be separated, visualised and quantified in 3D on a ply-by-ply basis. In this way the interply delaminations have been mapped, showing characteristic peanut shaped delaminations with the major axis oriented with the fibres in the ply below the interface. This registry to the profile of the panel constitutes a significant improvement in our ability to characterise impact damage in composite laminates and extract relevant measurements from X-ray CT datasets.
The 7th International Conference on Spectroscopic Ellipsometry (ICSE-7) was held in Berlin in June 2016, jointly organised by ICSE and BAM. The publication of the proceedings special issue in Applied Surface Science follows this event. In the special issue, about 100 articles on current topics of optics and surface science related to ellipsometry, polarimetry, and similar techniques are presented, underpinning the high significance of these techniques for many fields of materials science.
If fracture mechanics shall be applied to the total lifetime respectively the fatigue limit of components (within the meaning of the S-N curve approach) it has to address four challenges:
(a) It has to adequately describe so-called short crack propagation, which cannot be based on the common long crack concepts for principle reasons. Since the crack size is in the order of the plastic zone size, the modelling of short crack propagation cannot be based on the common linear elastic Delta K concept. Instead, an elastic-plastic parameter such as the cyclic J integral has to be applied. A second point is that the crack closure concept has to be modified in that the crack opening stress is not a constant, crack size- independent parameter but shows a transient behaviour with increasing short crack size.
(b) It has to provide a meaningful definition of the initial crack dimensions as the starting point for an S-N curve relevant (residual) lifetime analysis. This can be based either on the (statistical) size of material defects which can be treated as cracks or by the size of the crack which would arrest subsequent to early crack propagation, whatever is larger.
(c) It has to cope with the problem of multiple cracks for load levels higher than the fatigue limit such as it occurs in many applications in the absence of very large initial defects.
(d) This requires consequent statistical treatment taking into account variations in the local geometry of the area where crack initiation has to be expected as well as the scatter in the initial crack size and in the material data used for the analyses.
The unparalleled excited-state potential-energy landscape of the chromium(III)-based dye [1]3+ ([Cr(ddpd)2]3+; ddpd=N,N’-dimethyl-N,N’-dipyridin-2-ylpyridin-2,6-diamine) enables a strong dual emission in the near infrared region. The temperature dependence of this dual emission allows the use of [1]3+ as an unprecedented molecular ratiometric thermometer in the 210–373 K temperature range in organic and in aqueous media. Incorporation of [1]3+ in biocompatible nanocarriers, such as 100 nm-sized polystyrene nanoparticles and solutol micelles, provides nanodimensional thermometers operating under physiological conditions.
The mechanochemical Knoevenagel condensation of malononitrile with p-nitrobenzaldehyde was studied in situ using a tandem approach. X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy were combined to yield time-resolved information on the milling process. Under solvent-free conditions, the reaction leads to a quantitative conversion to p-nitrobenzylidenemalononitrile within 50 minutes. The in situ data indicate that the process is fast and proceeds under a direct conversion. After stopping the milling process, the reaction continues until complete conversion. The continuous and the stopped milling process both result in crystalline products suitable for single crystal X-ray diffraction.
The practical performance of surface coatings in applications like catalysis, water splitting or batteries depends critically on the coating materials’ porosity. Determining the porosity in a fast and nondestructive way is still an unsolved problem for industrial thin-films technology. As a contribution to calibrated, non-destructive, optical layer characterisation, we present a multi-method comparison study on porous TiO2 films deposited by sol-gel synthesis on Si wafers. The ellipsometric data were collected on a range of samples with different TiO2 layer thickness and different porosity values. These samples were produced by templated sol-gel synthesis resulting in layers with a well-defined pore size and pore density. The ellipsometry measurement data were analysed by means of a Bruggeman effective medium approximation (BEMA), with the aim to determine the mixture ratio of void and matrix material by a multi-sample analysis strategy. This analysis yielded porosities and layer thicknesses for all samples as well as the dielectric function for the matrix material. Following the idea of multi-method techniques in metrology, the data was referenced to imaging by electron microscopy (SEM) and to a new EPMA (electron probe microanalysis) porosity approach for thin film analysis. This work might lead to a better metrological understanding of optical porosimetry and also to better-qualified characterisation methods for nano-porous layer systems.
1. IntroductionPorous materials, especially porous thin films play an importantrole in chemical and physical technology in every case where thecontact area between two media has to be maximised. From cataly-sis to photochemistry and photovoltaics, the applications of porouslayer materials are diverse and numerous [1–6].The accurate and non-destructive characterisation of porousfilms for layered systems poses a challenge. This applies especiallyfor the key parameter of porous films, their porosity, i.e. the mix-ing ratio between the Matrix of the film (host material) and thepore volume which is empty or filled with a fluid medium (inclu-sions). This parameter influences most of the physical and chemicalproperties of a porous thin film and is therefore essential for theunderstanding as well as the optimisation of this class of materials.
Multiple timescales in the photoswitching kinetics of crystalline thin films of azobenzene-trimers
(2017)
Functional materials that exhibit photoinduced structural phase transitions are highly interesting for applications in optomechanics and mechanochemistry. It is, however, still not fully understood how photochemical reactions, which are often accompanied by molecular motion, proceed in confined and crystalline environments. Here we show that thin films of azobenzene trimers exhibit high structural order and determine the crystallographic unit cell. We demonstrate that thin film can be switched partially reversibly between a crystalline and an amorphous phase. The time constant of the photoinduced amorphisation as measured with real-time x-ray diffraction ($\approx $ 220 s) lies between the two time constants (120 s and 2870 s) of the ensemble photoisomerisation processes that are measured via optical spectroscopy. Our observation of a photoinduced shrinking of the crystalline domains indicates a cascading process, in which photoisomerisation starts at the surface of the thin film and propagates deeper into the crystalline layer by introducing disorder and generating free volume. This finding is important for the rapidly evolving research field of photoresponsive thin films and smart crystalline materials in general.
The damage mechanisms slow crack growth (SCG) and environmental stress cracking (ESC), relevant for PE-HD materials are characterized based on improved full notch creep testing (FNCT) of two selected typical PE-HD materials for container applications. In this context, a distinction of the failure mechanisms as well as a categorization of involved media is suggested. Employing a novel FNCT device, elongation data were obtained in addition to conventional time-to-failure results of stress-dependent as well as temperature-dependent measurements. Changes in failure behavior, as determined by fracture surface analysis based on light microscopy (LM) and laser scanning microscopy (LSM), are correlated with FNCT results and used to introduce an additional possibility for the identification of brittle/ductile fracture behavior.
Aluminum has gathered toxicological Attention based on relevant human exposure and its suspected hazardous potential. Nanoparticles from food supplements or Food contact materials may reach the human gastrointestinal tract.
Here, we monitored the physicochemical fate of aluminum containing nanoparticles and aluminum ions when passaging an in vitro model of the human gastrointestinal tract. Smallangle X-ray scattering (SAXS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), ion beam microscopy (IBM), secondary ion beam mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS), and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) in the singleparticle mode were employed to characterize two aluminumcontaining nanomaterials with different particle core materials (Al0, γAl2O3) and soluble AlCl3. Particle size and shape remained unchanged in saliva, whereas strong Agglomeration of both aluminum nanoparticle species was observed at low pH in gastric fluid together with an increased ion release. The levels of free aluminum ions decreased in intestinal fluid and the particles deagglomerated, thus liberating primary particles again. Dissolution of nanoparticles was limited and substantial changes of their shape and size were not detected. The amounts of particle-associated phosphorus, chlorine, potassium, and calcium increased in intestinal fluid, as compared to nanoparticles in standard dispersion.
Interestingly, nanoparticles were found in the intestinal fluid after addition of ionic aluminum. We provide a comprehensive characterization of the fate of aluminum nanoparticles in simulated gastrointestinal fluids, demonstrating that orally ingested nanoparticles probably reach the intestinal epithelium. The balance between dissolution and de novo complex formation should be considered when evaluating nanotoxicological experiments.
Two classes of polyesters were prepared by irreversible polycondensations.
The dependence of the dispersities on the experimental parameters such as synthetic method, chemical structure, molecular weight and initial monomer concentration was determined. At first it was demonstrated that it is essential for a correct calculation of Mn and Mw to include all oligomers down to the dimers in the evaluation of SEC curves. Furthermore, it was demonstrated for poly(e-caprolactone)s and polylactides that reversible polycondensations and ring-opening polymerizations with equilibration yield identical products.
Finally, the dependence of the dispersity on various experimental Parameters was determined for equilibrated poly(e-caprolactone)s and polylactides.
Discoloration Effects of High-Dose gamma-Irradiation and Long-Term Thermal Aging of (U) HMW-PE
(2017)
Two polyethylene types with ultra-high (UHMWPE) and high molecular weight (HMW-PE) used as neutron radiation shielding materials in casks for radioactive waste were irradiated with doses up to 600 kGy using a 60Co gammasource. Subsequently, thermal aging at 125∘C was applied for up to one year. Degradation effects in the materials were characterized using colorimetry, UV-Visspectroscopy, IR spectroscopy, and DSC. Both materials exhibited a yellowing upon irradiation.The discoloration of UHMW-PE disappeared again after thermal aging.Therefore, the yellowing is assumed to originate fromannealable color centers in the formof free radicals that are trapped in the crystalline regions of the polymer and recombine at elevated temperatures. For the antioxidantcontaining HMWPE, yellowing was observed after both irradiation and thermal aging. The color change was correlated mainly to decomposition products of the antioxidant in addition to trapped radicals as in UHMW-PE. Additionally, black spots appeared after thermal aging of HMW-PE.
In diesem Beitrag werden zerstörungsfreie Untersuchungen mittels aktiver Thermografie an Probekörpern aus CFK und GFK mit unterschiedlichen künstlichen Fehlstellen vorgestellt. Dabei wird die zeitliche und örtliche Temperaturverteilung nach der Erwärmung mit Blitzlampen oder mit einem Infrarot-Strahler mit einer Infrarot-Kamera erfasst. Zur späteren Rekonstruktion der Messdaten wurde ein numerisches Modell entwickelt. Dazu war die Bestimmung der thermophysikalischen und optischen Materialeigenschaften erforderlich, was in diesem Beitrag ebenfalls beschrieben wird. Die Ergebnisse der numerischen Modellierung werden mit den experimentellen Untersuchungen der aktiven Thermografie verglichen. Weiterhin werden die experimentellen Untersuchungen hinsichtlich der beiden Materialsysteme CFK und GFK und unter Berücksichtigung der Teiltransparenz des GFK-Materials sowie der unterschiedlichen Anregungsquellen bewertet.
This paper presents the first worldwide inter-laboratory comparison of small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) for nanoparticle sizing. The measurands in this comparison are the mean particle radius, the width of the size distribution and the particle concentration. The investigated sample consists of dispersed silver nanoparticles, surrounded by a stabilizing polymeric shell of poly(acrylic acid). The silver cores dominate the X-ray scattering pattern, leading to the determination of their radius size distribution using (i) the generalized indirect Fourier transformation method, (ii) classical model fitting using SASfit and (iii) a Monte Carlo fitting approach using McSAS. The application of these three methods to the collected data sets from the various laboratories produces consistent mean number- and volume-weighted core radii of Rn = 2.76 (6) nm and Rv = 3.20 (4) nm, respectively. The corresponding widths of the lognormal radius distribution of the particles were σn = 0.65 (1) nm and σv = 0.71 (1) nm. The particle concentration determined using this method was 3.0 (4) g l−1 or 4.2 (7) × 10−6 mol l−1. These results are affected slightly by the choice of data evaluation procedure, but not by the instruments: the participating laboratories at synchrotron SAXS beamlines, commercial and in-house-designed instruments were all able to provide highly consistent data. This demonstrates that SAXS is a suitable method for revealing particle size distributions in the sub-20 nm region (at minimum), out of reach for most other analytical methods.
The discussions on the nanoconfinement effect on the glass transition and glassy dynamics phenomena have yielded many open questions. Here, the thickness dependence of the thermal glass transition temperature of thin films of a PVME/PS blend is investigated by ellipsometry. Its thickness dependence was compared to that of the dynamic glass transition (measured by specific heat spectroscopy), and the deduced Vogel temperature (T0). While and T0 showed a monotonous increase, with decreasing the film thickness, the dynamic glass transition temperature () measured at a finite frequency showed a non-monotonous dependence that peaks at 30 nm. This was discussed by assuming different cooperativity length scales at these temperatures, which have different sensitivities to composition and thickness. This non-monotonous thickness dependence of disappears for frequencies characteristic for T0. Further analysis of the fragility parameter, showed a change in the glassy dynamics from strong to fragile, with decreasing film thickness.
Two strontium-based dicarboxylate systems [Sr(oBDC-F4)(H2O)2] (1) and [{Sr(oBDC)(H2O)2)·H2O] (2) were synthesized mechanochemically via milling of Sr(OH)2·8H2O with tetrafluorophthalic acid (H2oBDC-F4) or phthalic acid (H2oBDC), respectively. The new structures were determined ab initio from the powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) data. Both compounds 1 and 2 crystallize in the monoclinic space group P21 /c as two-dimensional coordination polymers (2D-CPs). The determined structures were validated by extended X-ray absorption (EXAFS) data. Compounds 1 and 2 show different thermal stabilities. The fluorinated CP 1 is decomposed at 300 °C while the nonfluorinated CP 2 transforms into a new phase after thermal treatment at 400 °C. The two hydrated CPs exhibit small surface areas which increase after the thermal posttreatment for 1 but remains unchanged for the dehydrated sample of 2. Dynamic vapor sorption (DVS) experiments indicate that both the dehydrated and hydrated samples of 2 depict no significant differences in their adsorption isotherms. The DVS of water indicates that the phase transition after thermal posttreatment of 2 is irreversible.
Influence of weathering on the leaching behaviour of zinc and PAH from synthetic sports surfaces
(2017)
Synthetic materials used for outdoor sports grounds consist of a mix of inorganic, organic and polymeric compounds that show ageing due to weathering and a complex leaching behaviour by percolation of rainwater, which can limit its lifetime. Additionally, weathering exposure induces degradation processes in the polymers, which leads to the formation of new surfaces allowing water to access additional reservoirs of leachable compounds. A laboratory test comprising artificial weathering, ozonisation and subsequent leaching was developed to investigate this behaviour in a reproducible and controllable way. The experiments showed a general decline of Zn, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and total organic carbon (TOC) concentrations after an initial increase. Within this general trend, the course of concentration over exposure duration is very specific for individual sample materials and the analyte under investigation. The results indicate that weathering and degradation behaviour cannot be predicted from initial material conditions. Thus, weathering experiments are recommended to fill this gap of knowledge.