Rogério Valentim Gelamo

Enhanced field emission of plasma treated multilayer graphene

Electron emission properties of multilayer graphene (MLG) prepared by a facile exfoliation technique have been studied. Effect of CO2 Ar, N2, plasma treatment was studied using Raman spectroscopy and investigated for field emission based application. The CO2 plasma treated multilayer graphene shows an enhanced field emission behavior with a low turn on field of 0.18 V/μm and high emission current density of 1.89 mA/cm2 at an applied field of 0.35 V/μm. Further the plasma treated MLG exhibits excellent current stability at a lower and higher emission current value.

Low contact resistivity and strain in suspended multilayer graphene

Method to prepare suspended multilayer graphene (MLG) flakes and to form highly conductive (contact resistivity of ∼0.1 kΩ μm2) and tight mechanical connection between MLG and metal electrodes is described. MLG flakes prepared from natural graphite were precisely deposited over tungsten electrodes using dielectrophoresis, followed by high-temperature thermal annealing in high-vacuum. Considerable strain induced in the suspended part of flakes was revealed by Raman imaging.

Enhanced electron field emission from NiCo2O4 nanosheet arrays

Electron emission properties of electrodeposited spinel NiCo2O4 nanosheet arrays grown on Ni foam have been studied. The work function of NiCo2O4 was calculated by density functional theory using the plane-wave basis set and used to estimate the field enhancement factor. The NiCo2O4 nanosheet arrays exhibited a low turn-on field of 1.86 V μm−1 at 1 μA cm−2 and current density of 686 μA cm−2 at 3.2 V μm−1, with field enhancement factor β = 1460 and good field emission current stability. The field emission properties of the NiCo2O4 nanosheet arrays showed enhanced performance compared to chemically prepared NiCo2O4 nanosheets. Hence, the nanosheet arrays have great potential as robust high performance vertical structure electron emitters for future flat panel displays and vacuum electronic device applications.

Li diffusion and electrochromism in amorphous and crystalline vanadium oxide thin film electrodes

Amorphous vanadium oxide films were synthesized onto ITO-coated glass substrates by the hot filament metal oxide deposition technique. The as-deposited samples were heat-treated in an argon atmosphere. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that the films treated at 200 and 300 oC were still amorphous, while those treated at 400 and 500 oC were crystalline, with a V2O5 structure. All electrodes were electrochemically reversible for Li+ intercalation, exhibiting the electrochromic effect, observed from optical transmittance measurements at 632.8 nm. The Li-diffusion coefficient, DC, was measured by the galvanostatic intermittent titration technique (GITT) as function of the inserted charge. For the crystalline films it was observed that the optical absorbance and the DC increase with increasing Li insertion in the single-phase regions of crystalline LixV2O5 and decrease in the two-phase regions. For the latter, an effective DC was considered. The presence of other vanadium oxides mixed to the V2O5 matrix was inferred for the crystalline films from the chronopotentiometric and DC measurements.

Rochelle salt piezoelectric coefficients obtained by x-ray multiple diffraction

In this paper, the theory of the method which uses the sensitivity and versatility of the multiple diffraction phenomenon to probe small lattice deformation induced by electric field (Avanci et al 1998 Phys. Rev. Lett. 81 5426) was implemented to provide a relationship between the E-induced strain in the Rochelle salt (ferroelectric phase) crystal and the shift in the Renninger scan peak position. From that, all piezoelectric coefficients in a piezoelectric tensor row (d21 = 7.0(6) × 10 −10 CN −1 ,d 22 = 2.2(9) × 10 −9 CN −1 , d23 = 2.1(9) × 10 −9 CN −1 and d25 = 3.7(8) × 10 −11 CN −1 ) were determined by using the primary reflections ( 600 ) and ( 800 ) found as the best choices for the experiments with E parallel to the [0 1 0] direction (the b-axis).

Magnetism in Gd-W films

Vapor condensation techniques are useful to prepare magnetic alloys whose components have low or even negligible equilibrium mutual solubility. In this work, one of these techniques—sputtering—was used to obtain GdxW1−x alloys whose magnetic properties were investigated as a function of the Gd atomic concentration x. Gadolinium and various Gd-based alloys are promising materials for magnetic refrigeration and this was one of the motivations for this study. The Gdx–W1−x films were sputter deposited from Gd and W targets with x ranging from 0 to 1 as determined by x-ray energy-dispersive spectroscopic analyses. X-ray diffraction patterns indicate that crystalline structures were formed at low and high Gd concentrations, while at intermediate concentrations, the films were amorphous. Magnetization measurements, performed as a function of temperature and with static and alternating applied fields, reveal a spin glasslike behavior in all the W-containing samples for temperatures below the freezing temperature ...

Effect of plasma treatment on multilayer graphene: X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, surface morphology investigations and work function measurements

We report here the effect of plasma treatment on multilayer graphene samples as determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and surface morphology studies with atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The plasma treatment was modified to introduce controlled levels of defects and functionalities to the graphene samples to give tunable properties. The elemental composition and structure were investigated by XPS and micro Raman spectroscopy. The XPS study showed that there was a slight variation in the sp2/sp3 hybridization ratio between the plasma-treated samples and the pristine sample. Kelvin probe measurements were carried out on all the multilayer graphene samples and indicated a slight variation in the work function of the graphene samples after plasma treatment.

Multilayer Graphene Films Obtained by Dip Coating Technique

A dip coating system was projected and constructed to deposit a large range of thin films onto solid substrates. A microcontroller was used to control the deposition system. As an example of application multilayer graphene (MLG) films were deposited onto glass slices in order to obtain conductive films with relatively good light transmittance. The MLG flakes were obtained using natural graphite and isopropyl alcohol resulting in three dispersions treated in ultrasound for 30, 60 and 90 minutes, respectively. Using atomic force microscopy, UV-Vis spectrometry and an electrometer the film characterizations were performed. MLG flakes about 13 nm thick, 10 mµ2 of area were observed using AFM. In films obtained with 35 immersions the electrical resistance and the resistance sheet reached 1.8 kΩ and 1.9kΩ/square respectively. The light transmittance reached 10-20% while films obtained with dispersions treated for 60 and 90 minutes were electrically continuous. Thus, conductive films can be used in chemiresistor sensors, electrochemical and supercapacitors electrodes.

Effects of reprocessing on chemical and morphological properties of guide wires used in angioplasty

OBJECTIVE To investigate the influence of the reprocessing technique of enzymatic bath with ultrasonic cleaning and ethylene oxide sterilization on the chemical properties and morphological structure of polymeric coatings of guide wire for regular guiding catheter. METHODS These techniques simulated the routine of guide wire reprocessing in many hemodynamic services in Brazil and other countries. Samples from three different manufacturers were verified by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. RESULTS A single or double sterilization of the catheters with ethylene oxide was not associated with morphological or chemical changes. However, scanning electron microscopy images showed that the washing method was associated with rough morphological changes, including superficial holes and bubbles, in addition to chemical changes of external atomic layers of polymeric coating surfaces, as detected by the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy method, which is compatible with extended chemical changes on catheter surfaces. CONCLUSION The reprocessing of the catheters with ethylene oxide was not associated with morphological or chemical changes, and it seemed appropriate to maintain guide wire coating integrity. However, the method combining chemical cleaning with mechanical vibration resulted in rough anatomical and chemical surface deterioration, suggesting that this reprocessing method should be discouraged.

The electrochemical 4-chlorophenol sensing properties of a plasma-treated multilayer graphene modified photolithography patterned platinum electrode

The present work describes the electrochemical 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) sensing properties of multilayer graphene samples (MLG). In order to enhance the presence of oxygen functional groups and to increase the edge plane defects, oxygen plasma treatment is adopted. Raman, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) characterizations are used to investigate the effect of plasma treatment on MLG. Compared to pristine MLG, the oxygen plasma treated one shows increased oxidation current towards 4-CP. The sensor data exhibit high sensitivity and stability with high anti-interference property in the presence of other phenolic compounds including phenol, bisphenol, 2,3-chlorophenol, 2,3,4-nitrophenol and inorganic ions.