High surface area alumina coatings were prepared on surface acoustic wave (SAW) mass balances. These coatings were fabricated by anodic etching of evaporated aluminum films. The coatings consisted of roughly collinear pores penetrating through the monolithic alumina film. The nanoporous (NP) coatings were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, and the pore number density and diameter we...

The integration of orthopedic implants with host bone presents a major challenge in joint arthroplasty, spinal fusion and tumor reconstruction. The cellular microenvironment can be programmed via implant surface functionalization allowing direct modulation of osteoblast adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation at the implant--bone interface. The development of layer-by-layer assembled polye...

Ternary transition metal carbides with inherently nanolaminated crystal structure are a class of materials with typically higher damage tolerance, better machinability and lower brittleness compared to the binary counterparts, yet retaining their satisfactory electrical and thermal conductivity. Their interesting properties can be related to the laminated structure. Though studies of their prop...

Optical waveguide lightmode spectroscopy (OWLS) is usually applied as a biosensor system to the sorption-desorption of proteins to waveguide surfaces. Here, we show that OWLS can be used to monitor the quality of oxide thin film materials and of coatings of pulsed laser deposition synthesized CdSe quantum dots (QDs) intended for solar energy applications. In addition to changes in data treatmen...

The study of the growth mechanisms of amorphous hydrogenated carbon coatings (aCHx) deposited by reactive pulsed magnetron discharge in Ar+C2H2, Ar+H2 and Ar+C2H2+H2 low pressure atmospheres is presented in this work. Hydrogen-containing species of the reactant gas affect the microstructure and surface properties of the a-CHx thin films. The dynamic scaling theory has been used to relate the ma...

Different types of Ag/AgCl reference electrodes have been realised by means of thinand thick-film technique. For inner electrolyte, KCl-containing membranes have been deposited and different coatings have been used to protect the reference electrode from a fast leaching out of KCl. The stability of the potential of the reference electrodes without KClcontaining membranes in 3 M KCl was about 7 ...

An advanced boundary element method (BEM) is developed in this paper for analyzing thin layered structures, such as thin films and coatings, under the thermal loading. The boundary integral equation (BIE) formulation for steady-state thermoelasticity is reviewed and a special case, that is, the BIE for a uniform distribution of the temperature change, is presented. The new nearly-singular integ...

We present a strategy to identify energetically favourable oxide structures in thin-film geometries. Thin-film candidate configurations are constructed from a pool of sublattices of stable and metastable oxide bulk phases. Favourable stoichiometric compositions and atomic geometries are identified by comparing total and Gibbs free energies of the relaxed configurations. This strategy is illustr...

Fragmentation of thin layers of materials is mediated by a network of cracks on its surface. It is commonly seen in dehydrated paintings or asphalt pavements and even in graphene or other two-dimensional materials, but is also observed in the characteristic polygonal pattern on a crocodile's head. Here, we build a simple mechanical model of a thin film and investigate the generation and develop...

A multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) sponge network, coated by ALD V(2)O(5), presents the key characteristics needed to serve as a high-performance cathode in Li-ion batteries, exploiting (1) the highly electron-conductive nature of MWCNT, (2) unprecedented uniformity of ALD thin film coatings, and (3) high surface area and porosity of the MWCNT sponge material for ion transport. The core/shell ...