2018-2-6, Madian, Mahmoud, Eychmüller, Alexander, Giebeler, Lars

The lithium ion battery (LIB) has proven to be a very reliably used system to store electrical energy, for either mobile or stationary applications. Among others, TiO2-based anodes are the most attractive candidates for building safe and durable lithium ion batteries with high energy density. A variety of TiO2 nanostructures has been thoroughly investigated as anodes in LIBs, e.g., nanoparticles, nanorods, nanoneedles, nanowires, and nanotubes discussed either in their pure form or in composites. In this review, we present the recent developments and breakthroughs demonstrated to synthesize safe, high power, and low cost nanostructured titania-based anodes. The reader is provided with an in-depth review of well-oriented TiO2-based nanotubes fabricated by anodic oxidation. Other strategies for modification of TiO2-based anodes with other elements or materials are also highlighted in this report.

2018, Raie, Diana S., Mhatre, Eisha, El-Desouki, Doaa S., Labena, Ahmed, El-Ghannam, Gamal, Farahat, Laila, Youssef, Tareq, Fritzsche, Wolfgang, Kovács, Ákos

The present work was targeted to design a surface against cell seeding and adhering of bacteria, Bacillus subtilis. A multi-walled carbon nanotube/titanium dioxide nano-power was produced via simple mixing of carbon nanotube and titanium dioxide nanoparticles during the sol-gel process followed by heat treatment. Successfully, quercetin was immobilized on the nanocomposite via physical adsorption to form a quercetin/multi-walled carbon nanotube/titanium dioxide nanocomposite. The adhesion of bacteria on the coated-slides was verified after 24 h using confocal laser-scanning microscopy. Results indicated that the quercetin/multi-walled carbon nanotube/titanium dioxide nanocomposite had more negativity and higher recovery by glass surfaces than its counterpart. Moreover, coating surfaces with the quercetin-modified nanocomposite lowered both hydrophilicity and surface-attached bacteria compared to surfaces coated with the multi-walled carbon nanotubes/titanium dioxide nanocomposite.

2017, Bettscheider, Simon, Grützmacher, Philipp G., Rosenkrantz, Andreas

Recording of Stribeck-like curves is a common way to study the effect of laser-patterned surfaces on the frictional efficiency. However, solely relying on the coefficient of friction when identifying the lubrication regime and the underlying working principles can be misleading. Consequently, a ball-on-disc tribometer was combined with an electrical resistivity circuit to simultaneously measure Stribeck-like curves and solid-solid contact ratios for polished and laser-patterned samples. Line-like surface patterns with different periodicities were produced by direct laser interference patterning on steel substrates (AISI304). The reference shows a Stribeck-like behavior well correlating with the contact ratios. The behavior deviates for high sliding velocities (high contact ratios) due to a loss of lubricant induced by centrifugal forces pulling the lubricant out of the contact zone. In contrast, the solid–solid contact ratio of the laser-patterned samples is around 80% for all sliding velocities. Those values can be explained by higher contact pressures and the structural depth induced by the surface topography which make a full separation of the surfaces unlikely. Despite those high values for the contact ratio, laser-patterning significantly reduces friction, which can be traced back to a reduced real contact area and the ability to store oil in the contact zone.

2017, Kolbe, Tim, Knauer, Arne, Rass, Jens, Cho, Hyun Kyong, Hagedorn, Sylvia, Einfeldt, Sven, Kneissl, Michael, Weyers, Markus

The effects of composition and p-doping profile of the AlGaN:Mg electron blocking layer (EBL) in 310 nm ultraviolet B (UV-B) light emitting diodes (LEDs) have been investigated. The carrier injection and internal quantum efficiency of the LEDs were simulated and compared to electroluminescence measurements. The light output power depends strongly on the temporal biscyclopentadienylmagnesium (Cp 2 Mg) carrier gas flow profile during growth as well as on the aluminum profile of the AlGaN:Mg EBL. The highest emission power has been found for an EBL with the highest Cp 2 Mg carrier gas flow and a gradually decreasing aluminum content in direction to the p-side of the LED. This effect is attributed to an improved carrier injection and confinement that prevents electron leakage into the p-doped region of the LED with a simultaneously enhanced carrier injection into the active region.

2017, Feng, Jun, Ton, Xuan-Anh, Zhao, Shifang, Paez, Julieta I., del Campo, Aránzazu

In situ forming hydrogels with catechol groups as tissue reactive functionalities are interesting bioinspired materials for tissue adhesion. Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)–catechol tissue glues have been intensively investigated for this purpose. Different cross-linking mechanisms (oxidative or metal complexation) and cross-linking conditions (pH, oxidant concentration, etc.) have been studied in order to optimize the curing kinetics and final cross-linking degree of the system. However, reported systems still show limited mechanical stability, as expected from a PEG network, and this fact limits their potential application to load bearing tissues. Here, we describe mechanically reinforced PEG–catechol adhesives showing excellent and tunable cohesive properties and adhesive performance to tissue in the presence of blood. We used collagen/PEG mixtures, eventually filled with hydroxyapatite nanoparticles. The composite hydrogels show far better mechanical performance than the individual components. It is noteworthy that the adhesion strength measured on skin covered with blood was >40 kPa, largely surpassing (>6 fold) the performance of cyanoacrylate, fibrin, and PEG–catechol systems. Moreover, the mechanical and interfacial properties could be easily tuned by slight changes in the composition of the glue to adapt them to the particular properties of the tissue. The reported adhesive compositions can tune and improve cohesive and adhesive properties of PEG–catechol-based tissue glues for load-bearing surgery applications.

2017, Seifert, Marietta, Brachmann, Erik, Rane, Gayatri K., Menzel, Siegfried B., Gemming, Thomas

High temperature surface acoustic wave sensors based on radio frequency identification technology require adequate antennas of high efficiency and thermal stability for the signal transmission. Platinum is well known and frequently used as a material of choice for high temperature and harsh environment applications because of the high melting point and its chemical stability. Therefore, one way to realize high temperature stable antennas is the combination of a Pt metallization on an Al 2 O 3 substrate. As a cost-effective technique, the Pt film is deposited via electrochemical deposition. For this growth procedure, a pre-deposited metallization on the Al 2 O 3 layer is required. This paper analyzes the influence of various seed layers (Ta, Ti, W, Cr, Pt) on the morphology, stability and electrical properties of the electrochemically-grown Pt thick film after heat treatments up to 1000 ∘ C in air. We find an oxidation of all adhesion layers except for Pt, for which the best electrical properties were measured. Although significant areas of the films delaminate from the substrate, individual anchor structures retain a stable connection between the Pt layer and the rough Al 2 O 3 substrate.

2017, Madian, Mahmoud, Ummethala, Raghunandan, El Naga, Ahmed Osama Abo, Ismail, Nahla, Rümmeli, Mark Hermann, Eychmüller, Alexander, Giebeler, Lars

TiO2 nanotubes (NTs) synthesized by electrochemical anodization are discussed as very promising anodes for lithium ion batteries, owing to their high structural stability, high surface area, safety, and low production cost. However, their poor electronic conductivity and low Li+ ion diffusivity are the main drawbacks that prevent them from achieving high electrochemical performance. Herein, we report the fabrication of a novel ternary carbon nanotubes (CNTs)@TiO2/CoO nanotubes composite by a two-step synthesis method. The preparation includes an initial anodic fabrication of well-ordered TiO2/CoO NTs from a Ti-Co alloy, followed by growing of CNTs horizontally on the top of the oxide films using a simple spray pyrolysis technique. The unique 1D structure of such a hybrid nanostructure with the inclusion of CNTs demonstrates significantly enhanced areal capacity and rate performances compared to pure TiO2 and TiO2/CoO NTs, without CNTs tested under identical conditions. The findings reveal that CNTs provide a highly conductive network that improves Li+ ion diffusivity, promoting a strongly favored lithium insertion into the TiO2/CoO NT framework, and hence resulting in high capacity and an extremely reproducible high rate capability.

2017, Brachmann, Erik, Seifert, Marietta, Oswald, Steffen, Menzel, Siegfried B., Gemming, Thomas

A highly efficient and reproducible cleaning procedure of piezoelectric substrates is essential in surface acoustic waves (SAW) technology to fabricate high-quality SAW devices, especially for new applications such SAW sensors wherein new materials for piezoelectric substrates and interdigital transducers are used. Therefore, the development and critical evaluation of cleaning procedures for each material system that is under consideration becomes crucial. Contaminants like particles or the presence of organic/inorganic material on the substrate can dramatically influence and alter the properties of the thin film substrate composite, such as wettability, film adhesion, film texture, and so on. In this article, focus is given to different cleaning processes like SC-1 and SC-2, UV-ozone treatment, as well as cleaning by first-contact polymer Opticlean, which are applied for removal of contaminants from the piezoelectric substrate Ca 3 TaGa 3 Si 2 O 14 . By means of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, the presence of the most critical contaminants such as carbon, sodium, and iron removed through different cleaning procedures were studied and significant differences were observed between the outcomes of these procedures. Based on these results, a two-step cleaning process, combining SC-1 at a reduced temperature at 30 ∘ C instead of 80 ∘ C and a subsequent UV-ozone cleaning directly prior to deposition of the metallization, is suggested to achieve the lowest residual contamination level.

2019, Mueser, M.H., Li, H., Bennewitz, R.

A computationally lean model for the coarse-grained description of contact mechanics of hydrogels is proposed and characterized. It consists of a simple bead-spring model for the interaction within a chain, potentials describing the interaction between monomers and mold or confining walls, and a coarse-grained potential reflecting the solvent-mediated effective repulsion between non-bonded monomers. Moreover, crosslinking only takes place after the polymers have equilibrated in their mold. As such, the model is able to reflect the density, solvent quality, and the mold hydrophobicity that existed during the crosslinking of the polymers. Finally, such produced hydrogels are exposed to sinusoidal indenters. The simulations reveal a wavevector-dependent effective modulus E*(q) with the following properties: (i) stiffening under mechanical pressure, and a sensitivity of E*(q) on (ii) the degree of crosslinking at large wavelengths, (iii) the solvent quality, and (iv) the hydrophobicity of the mold in which the polymers were crosslinked. Finally, the simulations provide evidence that the elastic heterogeneity inherent to hydrogels can suffice to pin a compressed hydrogel to a microscopically frictionless wall that is undulated at a mesoscopic length scale. Although the model and simulations of this feasibility study are only two-dimensional, its generalization to three dimensions can be achieved in a straightforward fashion. © 2019 by the authors.

2018, Yu, D., Beckelmann, D., Opsölder, M., Schäfer, B., Moh, K., Hensel, R., de, Oliveira, P., Arzt, E.

For the next generation of handling systems, reversible adhesion enabled by micropatterned dry adhesives exhibits high potential. The versatility of polymeric micropatterns in handling objects made from various materials has been demonstrated by several groups. However, specimens reported in most studies have been restricted to the laboratory scale. Upscaling the size and quantity of micropatterned adhesives is the next step to enable successful technology transfer. Towards this aim, we introduce a continuous roll-to-roll replication process for fabrication of high-performance, mushroom-shaped micropatterned dry adhesives. The micropatterns were made from UV-curable polyurethane acrylates. To ensure the integrity of the complex structure during the fabrication process, flexible templates were used. The compression between the template and the wet prepolymer coating was investigated to optimize replication results without structural failures, and hence, to improve adhesion. As a result, we obtained micropatterned adhesive tapes, 10 cm in width and several meters in length, with adhesion strength about 250 kPa to glass, suitable for a wide range of applications. © 2018 by the authors.