Scratching resistance of SiC-rich nano-coatings produced by noble gas ion mixing

SiC-rich nano-layers were produced at room temperature by applying ion beam mixing of various C/Si multilayer structures using argon and xenon ions with energy in the range of 40–120 keV and fluences between 0.25 and 3 × 1016 ions/cm2. The mechanical behavior of the layers was characterized by scratch test. The scratching resistance of the ion mixed samples has been measured by standard scratch test applying an atomic-force microscope with a diamond-coated tip (radius < 15 nm) and they were compared to that measured on Si single crystal. The applied load varied in the range of 4–18 μN. The scratching resistance of the samples correlated with the effective areal density of the SiC; with increasing effective areal density the scratch depth decreases. Above sufficiently high effective areal density of SiC the scratch resistance (hardness) of the produced layer was somewhat higher than that of single crystal silicon. Previously it has been shown that such layers have excellent corrosion resistive properties as well. These findings allow to tune and design the mechanical and chemical properties of the SiC protective coatings

De nuevo, sobre la subrogación por pago del hipotecante por deuda ajena: comentario a la Sentencia del TS de 30 diciembre 2015

SENTENCIA: INCONGRUENCIA: inexistencia: cambio de punto de vista jurídico sin merma del derecho de defensa: Sentencia que estima a favor del hipotecante no deudor la acción subrogatoria tras la realización forzosa de la finca hipotecada cuando en la demanda se ejercita la acción subrogatoria ex art. 1838 CCiv.SENTENCE: INCONGRUITY: nonex-istence: changing legal point of view without compromising the right of defense: Judgment that estimates for the mortgagee no debtor subrogation action following the forced reali-zation of the mortgaged property when demand subrogation action is brought exart.1838 CCiv

In Situ Mechanical Analysis of the Nanoscopic Solid Electrolyte Interphase on Anodes of Li-Ion Batteries

The interfacial decomposition products forming the so-called solid–electrolyte interphase (SEI) significantly determine the destiny of a Li-ion battery. Ultimate knowledge of its detailed behavior and better control are required for higher rates, longer life-time, and increased safety. Employing an electrochemical surface force apparatus, it is possible to control the growth and to investigate the mechanical properties of an SEI in a lithium-ion battery environment. This new approach is here introduced on a gold model system and reveals a compressible film at all stages of SEI growth. The demonstrated methodology provides a unique tool for analyzing electrochemical battery interfaces, in particular in view of alternative electrolyte formulations and artificial interfaces. © 2019 The Authors. Published by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH Co. KGaA, Weinhei

Influence of Molecular Dipole Orientations on Long-Range Exponential Interaction Forces at Hydrophobic Contacts in Aqueous Solutions

Strong and particularly long ranged (>100 nm) interaction forces between apposing hydrophobic lipid monolayers are now well understood in terms of a partial turnover of mobile lipid patches, giving rise to a correlated long-range electrostatic attraction. Here we describe similarly strong long-ranged attractive forces between self-assembled monolayers of carboranethiols, with dipole moments aligned either parallel or perpendicular to the surface, and hydrophobic lipid monolayers deposited on mica. We compare the interaction forces measured at very different length scales using atomic force microscope and surface forces apparatus measurements. Both systems gave a long-ranged exponential attraction with a decay length of 2.0 +/- 0.2 nm for dipole alignments perpendicular to the surface. The effect of dipole alignment parallel to the surface is larger than for perpendicular dipoles, likely due to greater lateral correlation of in-plane surface dipoles. The magnitudes and range of the measured interaction forces also depend on the surface area of the probe used: At extended surfaces, dipole alignment parallel to the surface leads to a stronger attraction due to electrostatic correlations of freely rotating surface dipoles and charge patches on the apposing surfaces. In contrast, perpendicular dipoles at extended surfaces, where molecular rotation cannot lead to large dipole correlations, do not depend on the scale of the probe used. Our results may be important to a range of scale-dependent interaction phenomena related to solvent/water structuring on dipolar and hydrophobic surfaces at interfaces

The Intersection of Interfacial Forces and Electrochemical Reactions

We review recent developments in experimental techniques that simultaneously combine measurements of the interaction forces or energies between two extended surfaces immersed in electrolyte solutions—primarily aqueous—with simultaneous monitoring of their (electro)chemical reactions and controlling the electrochemical surface potential of at least one of the surfaces. Combination of these complementary techniques allows for simultaneous real time monitoring of angstrom level changes in surface thickness and roughness, surface–surface interaction energies, and charge and mass transferred via electrochemical reactions, dissolution, and adsorption, and/or charging of electric double layers. These techniques employ the surface forces apparatus (SFA) combined with various “electrochemical attachments” for in situ measurements of various physical and (electro)chemical properties (e.g., cyclic voltammetry), optical imaging, and electric potentials and currents generated naturally during an interaction, as well as when electric fields (potential differences) are applied between the surfaces and/or solution—in some cases allowing for the chemical reaction equation to be unambiguously determined. We discuss how the physical interactions between two different surfaces when brought close to each other (<10 nm) can affect their chemistry, and suggest further extensions of these techniques to biological systems and simultaneous in situ spectroscopic measurements for chemical analysis