Christian Teichert

Imaging of the formerly bonded area of individual fibre to fibre joints with SEM and AFM

Abstract Besides the determination of the force and the energy needed to break individual fibre to fibre joints, the investigation of the formerly bonded area (FBA) is of essential importance to learn more about the failure mechanisms of fibre–fibre bonds in general. In this study the surfaces of paper fibres and the FBA of fibre–fibre joints after the determination of the breaking force as well as the bonding energy were analysed by means of low voltage scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. A comparison between the contact zone of fibres broken at different loading rates as well as under cyclic loading showed that there seems to be no significant difference in the appearance of the FBA in these cases. Only minor delamination of the cell wall could be found in the bonding zone, which indicates no mechanical interlocking of fibrils in the bonding zone. Furthermore, it is shown that some glues used for specimen preparation of fibre–fibre bond strength measurement are forming a glue film on the fiberxa0surface and migrate into the bonding region.

Thin cellulose films as a model system for paper fibre bonds

Thin cellulose films on silicon substrates are used as a model system for paper fiber bonds. The films are formed by spincoating trimethylsilylcellulose on the substrates. The films are regenerated using HCl gas. After swelling in water, two samples can be bonded like a sandwich. It is shown that this model system can be used to measure the bond strength between the two films under controlled conditions. For a detailed characterization the films are studied in terms of roughness with atomic force microscopy (AFM). The hardness of the films is investigated by AFM-based nanoindentation. The chemistry and the thickness of the films is studied by infrared spectroscopy. It is shown that this model system enables the evaluation of different bonding mechanisms discussed in pulp and paper research. Our results clearly indicate that Coulomb interaction is an important bonding mechanism.

Epitaxy of highly ordered organic semiconductor crystallite networks supported by hexagonal boron nitride

This study focuses on hexagonal boron nitride as an ultra-thin van der Waals dielectric substrate for the epitaxial growth of highly ordered crystalline networks of the organic semiconductor parahexaphenyl. Atomic force microscopy based morphology analysis combined with density functional theory simulations reveal their epitaxial relation. As a consequence, needle-like crystallites of parahexaphenyl grow with their long axes oriented five degrees off the hexagonal boron nitride zigzag directions. In addition, by tuning the deposition temperature and the thickness of hexagonal boron nitride, ordered networks of needle-like crystallites as long as several tens of micrometers can be obtained. A deeper understanding of the organic crystallites growth and ordering at ultra-thin van der Waals dielectric substrates will lead to grain boundary-free organic field effect devices, limited only by the intrinsic properties of the organic semiconductors.

Analysis of lignin precipitates on ozone treated kraft pulp by FTIR and AFM

The process of ozone treatment of high kappa kraft pulp is studied using polarization modulated Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. The complementary information from the two methods enables a detailed analysis of reaction sites on the fibers, and gives a detailed view of the reaction mechanisms of delignification by ozone treatment. Furthermore we describe a simple method to measure the kappa number of paper sheets that can be used on-line.

Analysis of precipitated lignin on kraft pulp fibers using atomic force microscopy

A method is presented which enables analysis of lignin precipitated on the surface of kraft pulp fibers. As experimental input, high-resolution atomic force microscopy phase images of the fiber surfaces have been recorded in tapping mode. A digital image analysis procedure—based on the watershed algorithm—is applied to distinguish between cellulose fibrils and the precipitated lignin. In this way, size distributions for the diameter of lignin precipitates on pulp fiber surfaces can be obtained. In an initial application of the method, three softwood kraft pulps were analyzed: a black liquor cook with a very high content of precipitated lignin, a bleached pulp where nearly no precipitated lignin is visible and an unbleached industrial pulp. The proposed method is suggested as an appropriate tool to investigate the kinetics of lignin precipitation and the structure of lignin precipitates in pulping and bleaching.

Thin film growth of aromatic rod-like molecules on graphene.

Research on graphene (Gr) is a vastly expanding field due to its potential for technological applications. Its close structural and chemical relationship to conjugated organic molecules makes it a superior candidate as a transparent electrode material in organic electronics and optoelectronics. The growth of organic thin films-intensively investigated in the past few decades-has demonstrated the complexity in growth and nucleation processes arising from the anisotropy and spatial extension of the molecular building blocks. Choosing the small, conjugated rod-like molecules para-hexaphenyl and pentacene as model representatives for small organic molecules, we review recent findings in organic thin film growth on a variety of Gr substrates. Special attention is paid to the differences in the resulting growth arising from the various methods of Gr fabrication and support that affect both the Gr-molecule interfacing and the involved molecular diffusion processes.

Cantilever bending based on humidity-actuated mesoporous silica/silicon bilayers

Summary We use a soft templating approach in combination with evaporation induced self-assembly to prepare mesoporous films containing cylindrical pores with elliptical cross-section on an ordered pore lattice. The film is deposited on silicon-based commercial atomic force microscope (AFM) cantilevers using dip coating. This bilayer cantilever is mounted in a humidity controlled AFM, and its deflection is measured as a function of relative humidity. We also investigate a similar film on bulk silicon substrate using grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS), in order to determine nanostructural parameters of the film as well as the water-sorption-induced deformation of the ordered mesopore lattice. The strain of the mesoporous layer is related to the cantilever deflection using simple bilayer bending theory. We also develop a simple quantitative model for cantilever deflection which only requires cantilever geometry and nanostructural parameters of the porous layer as input parameters.

Modifying cellulose fibers by adsorption/precipitation of xylan

Xylan was precipitated on bleached and unbleached softwood kraft pulps (SKPB and SKPUB), a bleached sulfite pulp, and viscose fibers to investigate the influence on physical properties of handsheets as well as to gain more detailed information of the distribution of adsorbed xylan on cellulosic surfaces. The adsorption step was carried out at constant conditions. The values of the parameters were chosen after a series of different adsorption steps (as presented elsewhere) also in regard as a possible industrial application. Afterwards, suspension and physical strength properties of unrefined and refined samples were determined. Refining resulted in a stronger increase in the beating degree of the pulps with additional xylan than the reference samples. The water retention value was not significantly changed. Comparing the tensile index of the handsheets versus the beating degree a remarkable increase in the strength properties was not observed. The investigation of the surface of the SKPB fibers via ATR suggests that precipitated xylan is heterogeneously and nonuniformly distributed. On cellulose model films, particles could be detected via atomic force microscopy. Phase images recorded with OH-functionalized tips suggested that these particles consist of xylan. An inhomogeneous distribution of xylan could be a reason that there is no measurable influence on the strength properties of the handsheets.

The effects of water uptake on mechanical properties of viscose fibers

AbstractnThe fact that cellulose materials soften with water uptake is exploited constantly during paper production to form strong bonds between two fibers. Here, we present measurements of surface hardness and reduced modulus of viscose fibers by natomic force microscopy based nanoindentation at varying relative humidity. A home-built setup allowed to access a wide humidity range from 5xa0% until 95xa0% relative humidity. The obtained results are compared to those of softwood kraft pulp fibers. Creep effects at a constant load during indentation were observed and found to increase exponentially with increasing humidity. In order to relate mechanical properties to the water content within a fiber, also gravimetric sorption studies were performed. This allowed to extrapolate the mechanical properties of viscose fibers to 100xa0% relative humidity. Interestingly, hardness and reduced modulus are at this point higher by a factor of 4 and 20, respectively, compared to those of viscose fibers fully swollen in water. Pulp fibers, in comparison, exhibit mechanical properties which are similar to those of viscose fibers. Only when the fibers are swollen, a higher hardness for viscose fibers is evident, whereas the moduli of pulp and viscose fibers are still comparable.

From Permeation to Cluster Arrays: Graphene on Ir(111) Exposed to Carbon Vapor

Our scanning tunneling microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy experiments along with first-principles calculations uncover the rich phenomenology and enable a coherent understanding of carbon vapor interaction with graphene on Ir(111). At high temperatures, carbon vapor not only permeates to the metal surface but also densifies the graphene cover. Thereby, in addition to underlayer graphene growth, upon cool down also severe wrinkling of the densified graphene cover is observed. In contrast, at low temperatures the adsorbed carbon largely remains on top and self-organizes into a regular array of fullerene-like, thermally highly stable clusters that are covalently bonded to the underlying graphene sheet. Thus, a new type of predominantly sp2-hybridized nanostructured and ultrathin carbon material emerges, which may be useful to encage or stably bind metal in finely dispersed form.