Splat formation and microstructure of solution precursor thermal sprayed Nb-doped titanium oxide coatings

Solution precursor thermal spray can become a breakthrough technology for the deposition of coatings with novel chemistries; however, the understanding of the process that the feedstock material undergoes is still lacking when compared to more traditional presentations (i.e. powder and suspension). In this paper, niobium-doped TiO2 coatings were deposited by solution precursor high velocity oxy-fuel thermal spraying, studying its microstructure and phase. It was reported that a lower flame temperature produced a highly porous coating, while the porosity was reduced at higher flame temperature. Investigation of the phase content showed that, contrary to our current understanding, a higher flame power implied an increase of the anatase phase content for solution precursor spray. Three methods were used: Rietveld refinement, peak height and peak area of the x-ray diffraction patterns. Additionally, single splats were analysed, showing that as the precursor travels through the flame, pyrolysis and sintering takes place to form the solid material. These results were used to derive a model of the physico-chemical transformation of the solution precursor. This work proves that solution precursor thermal spray is a promising technique for the deposition of doped ceramic coatings, being the microstructure and phase content controllable through the spraying parameters

A hybrid nanoparticle/alkoxide ink for inkjet printing of TiO2: a templating effect to form anatase at 200 °C

Novel hybrid nanoparticle/alkoxide inks for the inkjet printing of low temperature anatase TiO2.</p

Mitigation measures to reduce entanglements of migrating whales with commercial fishing gear

The West Coast Rock Lobster Managed Fishery (WCRLMF) transitioned to a quota based fishery, and year-round fishing, which corresponded with a spike in whale entanglements in 2013. This presented industry with a challenging social issue, to reduce entanglements without impacting on the financial benefits that the shift to year-round quota fishing had afforded

The influence of tertiary butyl hydrazine as a co-reactant on the atomic layer deposition of silver

Ultra-thin conformal silver films are the focus of development for applications such as anti-microbial surfaces, optical components and electronic devices. In this study, metallic silver films have been deposited using direct liquid injection thermal atomic layer deposition (ALD) using (hfac)Ag(1,5-COD) ((hexafluoroacetylacetonato)silver(I)(1,5-cyclooctadiene)) as the metal source and tertiary butyl hydrazine (TBH) as a co-reactant. The process provides a 23 °C wide ‘self-limiting’ ALD temperature window between 105 and 128 °C, which is significantly wider than is achievable using alcohol as a co-reactant. A mass deposition rate of ∼20 ng/cm2/cycle (∼0.18 Å/cycle) is observed under self-limiting growth conditions. The resulting films are crystalline metallic silver with a near planar film-like morphology which are electrically conductive. By extending the temperature range of the ALD window by the use of TBH as a co-reactant, it is envisaged that the process will be exploitable in a range of new low temperature applications

Neural correlates of sexual cue reactivity in individuals with and without compulsive sexual behaviours

Although compulsive sexual behaviour (CSB) has been conceptualized as a "behavioural" addiction and common or overlapping neural circuits may govern the processing of natural and drug rewards, little is known regarding the responses to sexually explicit materials in individuals with and without CSB. Here, the processing of cues of varying sexual content was assessed in individuals with and without CSB, focusing on neural regions identified in prior studies of drug-cue reactivity. 19 CSB subjects and 19 healthy volunteers were assessed using functional MRI comparing sexually explicit videos with non-sexual exciting videos. Ratings of sexual desire and liking were obtained. Relative to healthy volunteers, CSB subjects had greater desire but similar liking scores in response to the sexually explicit videos. Exposure to sexually explicit cues in CSB compared to non-CSB subjects was associated with activation of the dorsal anterior cingulate, ventral striatum and amygdala. Functional connectivity of the dorsal anterior cingulate-ventral striatum-amygdala network was associated with subjective sexual desire (but not liking) to a greater degree in CSB relative to non-CSB subjects. The dissociation between desire or wanting and liking is consistent with theories of incentive motivation underlying CSB as in drug addictions. Neural differences in the processing of sexual-cue reactivity were identified in CSB subjects in regions previously implicated in drug-cue reactivity studies. The greater engagement of corticostriatal limbic circuitry in CSB following exposure to sexual cues suggests neural mechanisms underlying CSB and potential biological targets for interventions

Atomic layer deposition of Cu with a carbene-stabilized Cu (i) silylamide

The metal–organic Cu(I) complex 1,3-diisopropyl-imidazolin-2-ylidene copper hexamethyl disilazide has been tested as a novel oxygen-free precursor for atomic layer deposition of Cu with molecular hydrogen. Being a strong Lewis base, the carbene stabilizes the metal centre to form a monomeric compound that can be vaporised and transported without visible degradation. A significant substrate dependence of the growth process not only with respect to the film material but also to the structure of the films was observed. On Pd surfaces continuous films are grown and no phase boundary can be observed between the Cu film and the Pd, while island growth is observed on Ru substrates, which as a consequence requires thicker films in order to achieve a fully coalesced layer. Island growth is also observed for ultra-thin (<10 nm) Pd layers on Si substrates. Possible explanations for the different growth modes observed are discussed