2009, Egberts, Philip, Bennewitz, Roland

The incipient stages of plasticity in KBr single crystals have been examined in ultrahigh vacuum by means of Atomic Force Microscopy and Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy (KPFM). Conducting diamond-coated tips have been used to both indent the crystals and image the resulting plastic deformation. KPFM reveals that edge dislocations intersecting the surface carry a negative charge similar to kinks in surface steps, while screw dislocations show no contrast. Weak topographic features extending in <110> direction from the indentation are identified by atomic-resolution imaging to be pairs of edge dislocations of opposite sign, separated by a distance similar to the indenter radius. They indicate the glide of two parallel {110} planes perpendicular to the surface, a process that allows for a slice of KBr to be pushed away from the indentation site.

2009, Becker-Willinger, Carsten, Schmitz-Stöwe, Sabine, Bentz, Dirk

In the BMBF joint research project - NANOCURE - New Curing Methods for Print-Colours, Glues and Lacquers (prom. ref. : 13N9115) - a new class of nanoscaled photo initiators for radical polymerization processes in the printing industry is to be investigated. A possible mechanism for the reaction of TiO2 with acrylates, which is already described in literature is presented. Different methods of manufacturing TiO2 nanoparticles in the lower nanometric size range and their subsequent processing are described, the method is of special interest as it may lead to a possible integrated production process of UV-printing inks. The TEM analysis shows the homogeneous arrangement of TiO2 nanoparticles in an acrylic matrix, which is a necessary requirement for successful polymerization process. IR-spectroscopy is used to show the effect of TiO2-nanoparticles as UV photocatalytic polymerization initiators.

2009, Quilitz, Mario, Oliveira, Peter W. de, Heusing, Sabine, Veith, Michael

Transparent, conductive oxides (TCOs) applied as coatings find multiple applications in various areas such as flat panel display setups, as electrodes in touch-screen panels, electrochromic devices, solar cells and in architectural applications for example as IR reflectors. The favored material in the class of TCOs is still ITO - Sn-doped In2O3 - due to its unique combination of high transparency and electrical conductivity. Though already very good, the potential of the ITO coatings with regard to their conductivity leaves some space for future improvements. Also ITO as a material has some serious drawbacks, such as limited availability and high costs. this work presents some stratgies to overcome these obstacles. One way to enhance the conductivities of alternative materials is to use carbon nanotubes as a dopant. This strategy was tested for ATO (Antimony-doped Tin Oxide), Titan dioxide and AZO (Aluminium-doped Zinc oxide). The results for these materials are presented. In coatings of ITO on glass or polymeric foils usually silica-based binders are used. They have the disadvantage to reduce the contact between the highly conducting grains and thus reduce overall conductivity in the composite. The matrix between the nanoparticles can be improved by several measures. Experiments with relevance in this direction are discussed. A third strategy aims at the reduction of costs in the process of ITO fabrication. Here one way to go is to use an electrochemical synthesis method. Results of the line of development are presented. Other strategies comprise the suitable processing of materials with a lower intrinsic conductivity or the search for materials with high intrinsic conductivity close to that of ITO. Exmples are presented and discussed.

2007, Jilavi, Mohammad H., Sam, Ebru D., Werner, Ulf, Oliveira, Peter W. de, Veith, Michael

[no abstract available]

2004, Schwetz, Karl, Adam, Jens, Drumm, Robert, Ehlen, Frank, Grossman, Kai, Hareesh, Nair

[no abstract available]

2007, Mathur, Sanjay, Ganesan, Rajesh, Ruegamer, Thomas, Shen, Hao, Barth, Sven

[no abstract available]

2008, Adam, Jens, Aslan, Mesut, Drumm, Robert, Veith, Michael

Zirconia coatings consisting of a mixture of coarse and fine grained zirconia powders prepared by spraying of suspensions and subsequent thermal treatment at limited temperatures (up to 500°C) are poor in adherence and in intrinsic mechanical strength. We have shown elsewhere that mechanical properties of these coatings can be improved clearly by adding a small amount of nanoscaled zirconia. Here, the structural and the chemical development of this coating material and of the nanoparticles is examined to gain information about the underlying bonding mechanisms. The applied temperature is relatively low in comparison to the usual onset temperature of accelerated sintering. Nevertheless, the results show that diffusion controlled material transport mechanisms play their role in bonding. The condensation of surface OH groups may participate in bonding, too. These first results confirm the potential of nanoparticles to act as inorganic binder. Additional research effort to clarify the underlying mechanisms in detail is of interest. For the practical side, it can be concluded that the resulting effect of mechanical consolidation of ceramic structures at relatively low temperatures enables new ceramic applications, for example a new type of ceramic coatings on metallic substrates.

2007, Schem, Michael, Schmidt, Thomas, Caparrotti, Hinka, Wittmar, Matthias, Veith, Michael

Due to the upcoming ban of chromium-containing corrosion protection coatings in the near future, there is a worldwide effort to find a replacement for chromium as a corrosion inhibitor that also exhibits self-healing properties in scratches but without the negative efects like health and environmental hazards. In the present study promising results to achieve this goal are shown by using cerium compounds incorporated into an organic-inorganic hybrid material produced by the sol-gel process. Cerium compounds like cerium nitrate, cerium nitrate plus acetylacetonate, cerium acetylacetonate, and cerium sulphate were incorporated in sol-gel coating systems. The corrosion protection properties of these coatings were determined by means of Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) and in a conventional salt spray test. Furthermore, the leaching behaviour of the coatings was examined via Optical Emission Spectrometry (OES). Significant hints for self healing properties were obtained with a hybrid system doped with cerium nitrate in combination with acetylacetone.

2009, Weiss, Ingrid M., Heiland, Birgit

Composite materials of natural origin have remarkable material properties. In order to mimic the various functions of such materials for technical applications, it is necessary to understand the structure and the mechanisms of their formation, a scientific field which is called structural biology. A milestone in the era of structural biology was the application of the polarized light microscope for investigating biological specimens by W. J. Schmidt in 1924. A recent development in polarization technology is the LC-PolScope (Abrio IM™ Imaging System) that has been developed by R. Oldenbourg and his colleagues during the past 20 years. Like conventional polarization microscopy, it probes the local anisotropy of the specimen’s optical properties, such as birefringence or dichroism. Since there is a close relationship between such properties and molecular order in bulk materials, polarization microscopy can be regarded as a submicroscopic technique. The LC-PolScope is especially suitable for investigating biological materials without the need for using contrasting agents such as fluorescent markers. We demonstrated the applicability of this technique for the fast and sensitive screening of biological composite materials. Implications for the characterization of biomineralization phenomena in a quantitative manner are discussed.

2004, Schmidt, H., Becker-Willinger, C., Naumann, M., Bolz, H.

[no abstract available]