High Layer Uniformity of Two-Dimensional Materials Demonstrated Surprisingly from Broad Features in Surface Electron Diffraction

Paradoxically a very broad diffraction background, named the Bell-Shaped-Component (BSC), has been established as a feature of graphene growth. Although the BSC has been present in the earlier literature it has been ignored. Recent diffraction studies as a function of electron energy have shown that the BSC is not related to scattering interference. The BSC is a very strong effect, but its origin is still unclear. Here, additional experiments are carried out as a function of temperature while monitoring changes in the intensity of different spots over the range that single-layer-graphene (SLG) grows. Quantitative fitting of the profiles shows that the BSC follows the increase of the G(10) spot, proving directly that BSC is an indicator of high quality graphene. Additional metal deposition experiments provide more information about the BSC. The BSC is insensitive to metal deposition and it increases with metal intercalation, because a more uniform interface forms between graphene and SiC. These experiments support the conclusion that the BSC originates from electron spatial confinement within SLG and surprisingly it is an excellent measure of graphene uniformity, instead of film disorder

Disposable microfabricated bismuth microelectrode arrays for trace metal analysis by stripping voltammetry

AbstractThis work reports the fabrication of disposable bismuth microelectrode arrays by a thin-film microengineering approach and their application in stripping voltammetry. The microelectrode array was fabricated by sputtering and photolithography and consisted of 625 bismuth microdisks 10 colonm in radius with centre-to-centre separation of 200 colonm. The detection of trace metals, by stripping voltammetry, was carried out in unstirred solutions containing low concentrations of supporting electrolyte. These sensors provided enhanced analytical characteristics compared to conventional bismuth-film electrodes (BiFEs)

Magneto-Dielectric Behaviour of M-Type Hexaferrite/Polymer Nanocomposites

In the present study two sets of nanocomposites consisting of an epoxy resin and BaFe12O19 or SrFe12O19 nanoparticles were successfully developed and characterized morphologically and structurally via scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction spectra. The dielectric response of the nanocomposites was investigated by means of broadband dielectric spectroscopy and their magnetic properties were derived from magnetization tests. Experimental data imply that the incorporation of the ceramic nanoparticles enhances significantly the dielectric properties of the examined systems and their ability to store electrical energy. Dielectric spectra of all systems revealed the presence of three distinct relaxation mechanisms, which are attributed both to the polymer matrix and the nanoinclusions: Interfacial polarization, glass to rubber transition of the polymer matrix and the re-orientation of small polar side groups of the polymer chain. The magnetic measurements confirmed the ferromagnetic nature of the nanocomposites. The induced magnetic properties increase with the inclusion of hexaferrite nanoparticles. The nanocomposites with SrFe12O19 nanoparticles exhibit higher values of coercive field, magnetization, magnetic saturation and remanence magnetization. A magnetic transition was detected in the ZFC/FC curves in the case of the BaFe12O19/epoxy nanocomposites