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Plasma-catalysis has been proposed as a potential alternative for the synthesis of ammonia. Studies in this area focus on the reaction mechanisms and the apparent synergy existing between processes occurring in the plasma phase and on the surface of the catalytic material. In the present study, we approach this problem using a parallel-plate packed-bed reactor with the gap between the electrodes filled with pellets of lead zirconate titanate (PZT), with this ferroelectric material modified with a coating layer of alumina (i.e., Al2O3/PZT) and the same alumina layer incorporating ruthenium nanoparticles (i.e., Ru-Al2O3/PZT). At ambient temperature, the electrical behavior of the ferroelectric packed-bed reactor differed for these three types of barriers, with the plasma current reaching a maximum when using Ru-Al2O3/PZT pellets. A systematic analysis of the reaction yield and energy efficiency for the ammonia synthesis reaction, at ambient temperature and at 190 °C and various electrical operating conditions, has demonstrated that the yield and the energy efficiency for the ammonia synthesis do not significantly improve when including ruthenium particles, even at temperatures at which an incipient catalytic activity could be inferred. Besides disregarding a net plasma-catalysis effect, reaction results highlight the positive role of the ferroelectric PZT as moderator of the discharge, that of Ru particles as plasma hot points, and that of the Al2O3 coating as a plasma cooling dielectric layer.

A common approach for the photoelectrochemical (PEC) splitting of water relies on the application of WO3 porous electrodes sensitized with BiVO4 acting as a visible photoanode semiconductor. In this work, we propose a new architecture of photoelectrodes consisting of supported multishell nanotubes (NTs) fabricated by a soft-template approach. These NTs are formed by a concentric layered structure of indium tin oxide (ITO), WO3, and BiVO4, together with a final thin layer of cobalt phosphate (CoPi) co-catalyst. The photoelectrode manufacturing procedure is easily implementable at a large scale and successively combines the thermal evaporation of single crystalline organic nanowires (ONWs), the magnetron sputtering deposition of ITO and WO3, and the solution dripping and electrochemical deposition of, respectively, BiVO4 and CoPi, plus the annealing in air under mild conditions. The obtained NT electrodes depict a large electrochemically active surface and outperform the efficiency of equivalent planar-layered electrodes by more than one order of magnitude. A thorough electrochemical analysis of the electrodes illuminated with blue and solar lights demonstrates that the characteristics of the WO3/BiVO4 Schottky barrier heterojunction control the NT electrode efficiency, which depended on the BiVO4 outer layer thickness and the incorporation of the CoPi electrocatalyst. These results support the high potential of the proposed soft-template methodology for the large-area fabrication of highly efficient multishell ITO/WO3/BiVO4/CoPi NT electrodes for the PEC splitting of water.

Numerous works have demonstrated that cold plasma treatments constitute an effective procedure to accelerate seed germination under nonstress conditions. Evidence also exists about a positive effect of plasmas for germination under environmental stress conditions. For barley seeds, this work studies the influence of cold plasma treatments on the germination rate and initial stages of plant growth in common stress environments, such as drought, salinity, and low-temperature conditions. As a general result, it has been found that the germination rate was higher for plasma-treated than for untreated seeds. Plasma also induced favorable changes in plant and radicle dimensions, which depended on the environment. The obtained results demonstrate that plasma affects the biochemical metabolic chains of seeds and plants, resulting in changes in the concentration of biochemical growing factors, a faster germination, and an initially more robust plant growth, even under stress conditions. These changes in phenotype are accompanied by differences in the concentration of biomarkers such as photosynthetic pigments (chlorophylls a and b and carotenoids), reactive oxygen species, and, particularly, the amino acid proline in the leaves of young plants, with changes that depend on environmental conditions and the application of a plasma treatment. This supports the idea that, rather than an increase in seed water imbibition capacity, there are clear beneficial effects on seedling of plasma treatments.

Herein, we present the development of supported organic nanofabrics formed by a conformal polymer-like interconnection of small-molecule organic nanowires and nanotrees. These organic nanostructures are fabricated by a combination of vacuum and plasma-assisted deposition techniques to generate step by step, single-crystalline organic nanowires forming one-dimensional building blocks, organic nanotrees applied as three-dimensional templates, and the polymer-like shell that produces the final fabric. The complete procedure is carried out at low temperatures and is compatible with an ample variety of substrates (polymers, metal, ceramics; either planar or in the form of meshes) yielding flexible and low solid-fraction three-dimensional nanostructures. The systematic investigation of this progressively complex organic nanomaterial delivers key clues relating their wetting, nonwetting, and anti-icing properties with their specific morphology and outer surface composition. Water contact angles higher than 150° are attainable as a function of the nanofabric shell thickness with outstanding freezing-delay times (FDT) longer than 2 h at −5 °C. The role of the extremely low roughness of the shell surface is settled as a critical feature for such an achievement. In addition, the characteristic interconnected microstructure of the nanofabrics is demonstrated as ideal for the fabrication of slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces (SLIPS). We present the straightforward deposition of the nanofabric on laser patterns and the knowledge of how this approach provides SLIPS with FDTs longer than 5 h at −5 °C and 1 h at −15 °C.

Until recently, superhydrophobicity was considered as a hint to predict surface icephobicity, an association of concepts that is by no means universal and that has been proven to depend on different experimental factors and material properties, including the actual morphology and chemical state of surfaces. This work presents a systematic study of the wetting and freezing properties of aluminum Al6061, a common material widely used in aviation, after being subjected to nanosecond pulsed IR laser treatments to modify its surface roughness and morphology. All treated samples, independent of their surface finishing state, presented initially an unstable hydrophilic wetting behavior that naturally evolved with time to reach hydrophobicity or even superhydrophobicity. To stabilize the surface state and to bestow the samples with a permanent and stable hydrophobic character, laser-treated surfaces were covered with a thin layer of CFx prepared by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. A systematic comparison between freezing delay (FD) and wetting properties of water droplets onto these plasma-/polymer-modified laser-treated surfaces that, under conditions where a heterogeneous nucleation mechanism prevails, surface morphology rather than the actual value of the surface roughness parameter the key feature for long FD times. In particular, it is found that surface morphologies rendering a Cassie–Baxter wetting regime longer FDs than those characterized by a Wenzel-like wetting state. It is that laser treatment, with or without additional coverage with thin CFx coatings, affects wetting and ice formation behaviors and might be an efficient procedure to mitigate icing problems on metal surfaces.

Current studies on ammonia synthesis by means of atmospheric pressure plasmas respond to the urgent need of developing less environmentally aggressive processes than the conventional Haber-Bosch catalytic reaction. Herein, we systematically study the plasma synthesis of ammonia and the much less investigated reverse reaction (decomposition of ammonia into nitrogen and hydrogen). Besides analyzing the efficiency of both processes in a packed-bed plasma reactor, we apply an isotope-exchange approach (using D2 instead of H2) to study the reaction mechanisms. Isotope labeling has been rarely applied to investigate atmospheric plasma reactions, and we demonstrate that this methodology may provide unique information about intermediate reactions that, consuming energy and diminishing the process efficiency, do not effectively contribute to the overall synthesis/decomposition of ammonia. In addition, the same methodology has demonstrated the active participation of the interelectrode material surface in the plasma-activated synthesis/decomposition of ammonia. These results about the involvement of surface reactions in packed-bed plasma processes, complemented with data obtained by optical emission spectroscopy analysis of the plasma phase, have evidenced the occurrence of inefficient intermediate reaction mechanisms that limit the efficiency and shown that the rate-limiting step for the ammonia synthesis and decomposition reactions are the formation of NH∗ species in the plasma phase and the electron impact dissociation of the molecule, respectively.

Current studies on ammonia synthesis by means of atmospheric pressure plasmas respond to the urgent need of developing less environmentally aggressive processes than the conventional Haber–Bosch catalytic reaction. Herein, we systematically study the plasma synthesis of ammonia and the much less investigated reverse reaction (decomposition of ammonia into nitrogen and hydrogen). Besides analyzing the efficiency of both processes in a packed-bed plasma reactor, we apply an isotope-exchange approach (using D2 instead of H2) to study the reaction mechanisms. Isotope labeling has been rarely applied to investigate atmospheric plasma reactions, and we demonstrate that this methodology may provide unique information about intermediate reactions that, consuming energy and diminishing the process efficiency, do not effectively contribute to the overall synthesis/decomposition of ammonia. In addition, the same methodology has demonstrated the active participation of the interelectrode material surface in the plasma-activated synthesis/decomposition of ammonia. These results about the involvement of surface reactions in packed-bed plasma processes, complemented with data obtained by optical emission spectroscopy analysis of the plasma phase, have evidenced the occurrence of inefficient intermediate reaction mechanisms that limit the efficiency and shown that the rate-limiting step for the ammonia synthesis and decomposition reactions are the formation of NH* species in the plasma phase and the electron impact dissociation of the molecule, respectively.

This work presents a simple experimental procedure to probe light confinement effects in photonic structures. Two types of porous 1D Bragg microcavities with two resonant peaks in the reflection gap were prepared by physical vapor deposition at oblique angle configurations and then infiltrated with dye solutions of increasing concentrations. The unusual position shift and intensity drop of the transmitted resonant peak observed when it was scanned through the dye absorption band have been accounted for by the effect of the light trapped at their optical defect layer. An experimentally observed giant absorption of the dye molecules and a strong anomalous dispersion in the refractive index of the solution are claimed as the reasons for the observed variations in the Bragg microcavity resonant feature. Determining the giant absorption of infiltrated dye solutions is proposed as a general and simple methodology to experimentally assess light trapping effects in porous photonic structures.

M/WO3 (M = Pt, Pd) systems formed by a porous WO3 thin film decorated by metal nanoparticles are known for their reversible coloring upon exposure to H2 at room temperature. In this work, this gasochromic behavior is investigated in situ by means of near-ambient photoemission (NAPP). Pt/WO3 systems formed by very small Pt nanoparticles (10 ± 1 nm average size) incorporated in the pores of nanocolumnar WO3 thin films prepared by magnetron sputtering at an oblique angle have been exposed to a small pressure of hydrogen at ambient temperature. The recorded UV¿vis transmission spectra showed the reversible appearance of a very intense absorption band responsible for the blue coloration of these gasochromic films. In an equivalent experiment carried out in the NAPP spectrometer, W 4f, O 1s, Pt 4f, and valence band photoemission spectra have been recorded at various photon energies to follow the evolution of the reduced tungsten species and hydroxyl groups formed upon film exposure to hydrogen. The obtained results are compared with those of a conventional X-ray photoemission study after hydrogen exposure between 298 and 573 K. As investigated by NAPP, the gasochromic behavior at 298 K is accounted for by a reaction scheme in which hydrogen atoms resulting from the dissociation of H2 onto the Pt nanoparticles are spilt over to the WO3 substrate where they form surface OH¿/H2O species and subsurface W5+ cations preferentially located in buried layers of the oxide network.

The essential role of oxygen in enabling heterogeneously catalyzed Glaser-Hay coupling of phenylacetylene on Ag(100) was elucidated by STM, laboratory and synchrotron photoemission, and DFT calculations. In the absence of coadsorbed oxygen, phenylacetylene formed well-ordered dense overlayers which, with increasing temperature, desorbed without reaction. In striking contrast, even at 120 K, the presence of oxygen led to immediate and complete disruption of the organic layer due to abstraction of acetylenic hydrogen with formation of a disordered mixed layer containing immobile adsorbed phenylacetylide. At higher temperatures phenylacetylide underwent Glaser-Hay coupling to form highly ordered domains of diphenyldiacetylene that eventually desorbed without decomposition, leaving the bare metal surface. DFT calculations showed that, while acetylenic H abstraction was otherwise an endothermic process, oxygen adatoms triggered a reaction-initiating exothermic pathway leading to OH(a) + phenylacetylide, consistent with the experimental observations. Moreover, it was found that, with a solution of phenylacetylene in nonane and in the presence of O, Ag particles catalyzed Glaser-Hay coupling with high selectivity. Rigorous exclusion of oxygen from the reactor strongly suppressed the catalytic reaction. Interestingly, too much oxygen lowers the selectivity toward diphenyldiacetylene. Thus, vacuum studies and theoretical calculations revealed the key role of oxygen in the reaction mechanism, subsequently borne out by catalytic studies with Ag particles that confirmed the presence of oxygen as a necessary and sufficient condition for the coupling reaction to occur. The direct relevance of model studies to a mechanistic understanding of coupling reactions under conditions of practical catalysis was reaffirmed.

One-dimensional (1D) nanostructured surfaces based on high-density arrays of nanowires and nanotubes of photoactive titanium dioxide (TiO2) present a tunable wetting behavior from superhydrophobic to superhydrophilic states. These situations are depicted in a reversible way by simply irradiating with ultraviolet light (superhydrophobic to superhydrophilic) and storage in dark. In this article, we combine in situ environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) and near ambient pressure photoemission analysis (NAPP) to understand this transition. These experiments reveal complementary information at microscopic and atomic level reflecting the surface wettability and chemical state modifications experienced by these 1D surfaces upon irradiation. We pay special attention to the role of the water condensation mechanisms and try to elucidate the relationship between apparent water contact angles of sessile drops under ambient conditions at the macroscale with the formation of droplets by water condensation at low temperature and increasing humidity on the nanotubes' surfaces. Thus, for the as-grown nanotubes, we reveal a metastable and superhydrophobic Cassie state for sessile drops that tunes toward water dropwise condensation at the microscale compatible with a partial hydrophobic Wenzel state. For the UV-irradiated surfaces, a filmwise wetting behavior is observed for both condensed water and sessile droplets. NAPP analyses show a hydroxyl accumulation on the as-grown nanotubes surfaces during the exposure to water condensation conditions, whereas the water filmwise condensation on a previously hydroxyl enriched surface is proved for the superhydrophilic counterpart.

This paper presents a new method for the fabrication of metal-like decorative layers on glazed ceramic tiles. It consists of the laser treatment of copper thin films prepared by electron beam evaporation at glancing angles. A thin film of discontinuous copper nanoparticles was electron beam evaporated in an oblique angle configuration onto ceramic tiles and an ample palette of colors obtained by laser treatment both in air and in vacuum. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM and FESEM) along with UV-vis-NIR spectroscopy and time of flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) analysis were used to characterize the differently colored layers. Based on these analyses, color development has been accounted for by a simple model considering surface melting phenomena and different microstructural and chemical transformations of the outmost surface layers of samples.

Bragg microcavities (BMs) formed by the successive stacking of nanocolumnar porous SiO2 and TiO2 layers with slanted, zig-zag, chiral and vertical configurations are prepared by physical vapor deposition at oblique angles (PV-OAD) while azimuthally varying the substrate orientation during the multilayer growth. The slanted and zig-zag BMs act as wavelength selective optical retarders when they are illuminated with linearly polarized light, while no polarization dependence is observed for the chiral and vertical cavities. This distinct optical behavior is attributed to a self-nanostructuration mechanism involving a fence-bundling association of nanocolumns as observed by Focused Ion Beam- Scanning electron Microscopy (FIB-SEM) in the slanted and zig-zag microcavities. The outstanding retarder response of the optically active BMs can be effectively modulated by dynamic infiltration of nano- and meso-pores with liquids of different refraction indices acting as a switch of the polarization behavior. The unprecedented polarization and tunable optofluidic properties of these nanostructured photonic systems have been successfully simulated with a simple model that assumes a certain birefringence for the individual stacked layers and accounts for the light interference phenomena developed in the BMs. The possibilities of this type of self-arranged nanostructured and optically active BMs for liquid sensing and monitoring applications are discussed, The last innovations in the field of optofluidics have led to the development of highly versatile optical systems with a wide range of applications both at the micro and macroscales and a high impact in fields such as energy, 1 photonics, 2 microfluidics, 3 or sensors and biosensors. 4 Outstanding examples relying on the light control by means of liquids flowing through devices include adaptive and tunable microlenses, 5,6 optofluidic dye lasers 7 or advanced optofluidic microscopes. 8 Light polarization by liquids containing chiral molecules or by anisotropic solids is a classical optical principle widely used in advanced technologies for chemical analysis, communications, displays and photonics that, except for very recent works using complex polymer particles, 9 has not been addressed merging in a single device optics with microfluidics or nanofluidics. 3 In the present work we report about the development of a series of nanostructured planar Bragg microcavities (BM) devices prepared by physical vapor oblique angle deposition (PV-OAD) where a singular association of individual nanostructural units in the form of long asymmetric ensembles confers outstanding optical properties and a peculiar polarization activity that can be used for different applications including liquid monitoring. In particular, we have found that light polarization can be effectively controlled by liquid circulation and filling of the nano and mesopores existing in this type of structures. The liquid-mediated control of the activity of planar BMs constitutes a first case of polarizer thin films optofluidics with high impact prospects for the fabrication of polarization active systems, wavelength retarders, photonic sensors or liquid monitoring devices. In addition, the singular association of nanocolumns responsible for the peculiar polarization properties of these systems constitutes a prominent example of the interplay between structural effects at the nano-scale and their correlation in th

ITO thin films have been prepared by electron beam evaporation at oblique angles (OA), directly and while assisting their growth with a downstream plasma. The films microstructure, characterized by scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and glancing incidence small angle X-ray scattering, consisted of tilted and separated nanostructures. In the plasma 2 assisted films, the tilting angle decreased and the nanocolumns became associated in the form of bundles along the direction perpendicular to the flux of evaporated material. The annealed films presented different in-depth and sheet resistivity as confirmed by scanning conductivity measurements taken for the individual nanocolumns. In addition, for the plasma assisted thin films, two different sheet resistance values were determined by measuring along the nanocolumn bundles or along the perpendicular direction. This in-plane anisotropy induces the electrochemical deposition of elongated gold nanostructures. The obtained Au-ITO composite thin films were characterized by anisotropic plasmon resonance absorption and a dichroic behavior when examined with linearly polarized light.

UV nanosecond laser pulses have been used to produce a unique surface nanostructuration of Ag@ZnO supported nanorods (NRs). The NRs were fabricated by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) at low temperature applying a silver layer as promoter. The irradiation of these structures with single nanosecond pulses of an ArF laser produces the melting and reshaping of the end of the NRs that aggregate in the form of bundles terminated by melted ZnO spherical particles. Well-defined silver nanoparticles (NPs), formed by phase separation at the surface of these melted ZnO particles, give rise to a broad plasmonic response consistent with their anisotropic shape. Surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) in the as-prepared Ag@ZnO NRs arrays was proved by using a Rhodamine 6G (Rh6G) chromophore as standard analyte. The surface modifications induced by laser treatment improve the stability of this system as SERS substrate while preserving its activity.

© 2014 American Chemical Society. Scanning tunneling microscopy, temperature-programmed reaction, near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy, and density functional theory calculations were used to study the adsorption and reactions of phenylacetylene and chlorobenzene on Ag(100). In the absence of solvent molecules and additives, these molecules underwent homocoupling and Sonogashira cross-coupling in an unambiguously heterogeneous mode. Of particular interest is the use of silver, previously unexplored, and chlorobenzene-normally regarded as relatively inert in such reactions. Both molecules adopt an essentially flat-lying conformation for which the observed and calculated adsorption energies are in reasonable agreement. Their magnitudes indicate that in both cases adsorption is predominantly due to dispersion forces for which interaction nevertheless leads to chemical activation and reaction. Both adsorbates exhibited pronounced island formation, thought to limit chemical activity under the conditions used and posited to occur at island boundaries, as was indeed observed in the case of phenylacetylene. The implications of these findings for the development of practical catalytic systems are considered.

We present a straightforward procedure of self-surface patterning with potential applications as large area gratings, invisible labeling, optomechanical transducers, or smart windows. The methodology is based in the formation of parallel micrometric crack patterns when polydimethylsiloxane foils coated with tilted nanocolumnar SiO2 thin films are manually bent. The SiO2 thin films are grown by glancing angle deposition at room temperature. The results indicate that crack spacing is controlled by the film nanostructure independently of the film thickness and bending curvature. They also show that the in-plane microstructural anisotropy of the SiO2 films due to column association perpendicular to the growth direction determines the anisotropic formation of parallel cracks along two main axes. These self-organized patterned foils are completely transparent and work as customized reversible diffraction gratings under mechanical activation.

© 2014 American Chemical Society. This work reports a X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) study under in operando conditions of the structural and chemical changes undergone by WO3 and WxSiyOz thin films used as electrochromic cathodes. The electrochromic films were prepared by magnetron sputtering deposition at oblique angles and then characterized by a large variety of techniques. The voltammograms and chronoamperometric diagrams in both aqueous and organic electrolyte media revealed a total reversibility of the electrochromic behavior, a low response time, and a high coloration efficiency for the two types of thin films. The in operando X-ray absorption study of the films working in aqueous solutions revealed that when they were electrochemically cycled the average W-O distances reversibly varied by a Î>d of 0.06 and 0.08 Å for, respectively, WO3 and WxSiyOz. These changes are discussed by assuming the reduction of W6+ cations and the transformation of W-O double bonds into single W-O bond structures during the electrochemical cycling of the films.

Transparent nanocolumnar porous ZnO thin films have been prepared by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. By controlling the H2/O2 ratio in the plasma gas, the deposition conditions were optimized to obtain an intense exciton emission at around 381 nm and virtually no luminescence in the visible region associated with electronic states in the gap. The intensity of the exciton band varied significantly and reversibly with the partial pressure of oxygen in the environment. This behavior and its variations with temperature and water vapor sustain the use of these thin films as photonic sensors of oxygen. Further experiments in liquid water show that fluorescence intensity also varies with the amount of dissolved oxygen even for concentrations lower than 0.02 mg/L where commercial oxygen galvanic sensors show limited sensitivity. These results and the use of ZnO as photonic sensor of oxygen are discussed by assuming a classical mechanism involving the photoactivated adsorption of oxygen when this oxide is irradiated with UV light during its fluorescence interrogation.

This work reports the preparation, by a new remote assisted plasma deposition process, of luminescent nanocomposite thin films consisting of an insoluble organic matrix where photonically active perylene molecules are embedded. The films are obtained by the remote plasma deposition of adamantane and perylene precursor molecules. The results show that the adamantane precursor is very effective to improve the perylene–adamantane nanocomposite transparency in comparison with plasma deposited perylene films. The plasma deposited adamantane films have been characterized by secondary-ion mass spectrometry and FT-IR spectroscopy. These techniques and atomic force microscopy (AFM) have been also used for the characterization of the nanocomposite films. Their optical properties (UV–vis absorption, fluorescence, and refractive index) have been also determined and their sensing properties toward NO₂ studied. It is found that samples with the perylene molecules embedded within the transparent plasma deposited matrix are highly sensitive toward this gas and that the sensitivity of the films can be adjusted by modifying the aggregation state of the perylene molecules, as determined by the analysis of their fluorescence spectra. By monitoring the fluorescence emission of these films, it has been possible to detect a NO₂ concentration as low as 0.5 ppm in air at room temperature. Because of their chemical stability and transparency in the UV region, the remote plasma deposited adamantane thin films have revealed as an optimum host matrix for the development of photonically active composites for sensing applications.

This article aims toward a full description of the wetting conversion from superhydrophobicity to superhydrophilicity under illumination with UV light of high-density ZnO nanorods surfaces by (i) following the evolution of the clusters and superstructures formed by the nanocarpet effect as a function of the water contact angle (WCA); (ii) characterization of the superhydrophobic and superhydrophilic states with an environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM); and (iii) using the nanocarpet effect as a footprint of both local and apparent water contact angles. Thus, the main objective of the article is to provide a general vision of the wettability of 1D photoactive surfaces. In parallel, the nanocarpet (NC) formation by clustering of vertically aligned ZnO nanorods (NR) when water is dripped on their surface and then dried is studied for the first time by taking advantage of the possibility of tuning the surface water contact angle of the ZnO NR structure under UV preillumination. As a result, we demonstrate the feasibility of controlling the size and other morphological characteristics of the NCs. Moreover, a strong anisotropic wetting behavior, characterized by a Δο = ο ∥ - ο ⊥ = 30°, is shown on an asymmetrically aligned NC surface resulting from arrays of tilted NRs. The study of the condensation/evaporation of water on/from an as-prepared (superhydrophobic) or a preilluminated (superhydrophilic) NR surface examined by an environmental scanning electron microscope has evidenced the formation of supported water droplets with polygonal shapes in the first case and the complete filling of the inter-NR space in the latter. The long-term stability of the NC clusters has been utilized as a footprint to track the penetration depth of water within the inter-NR space in the three borderline regions of water droplets. This analysis has shown that for moderately hydrophobic surfaces (i.e., water contact angles lower than 130°) water droplets do not present a

This work reports the preparation, by a new remote assisted plasma deposition process, of luminescent nanocomposite thin films consisting of an insoluble organic matrix where photonically active perylene molecules are embedded. The films are obtained by the remote plasma deposition of adamantane and perylene precursor molecules. The results show that the adamantane precursor is very effective to improve the perylene-adamantane nanocomposite transparency in comparison with plasma deposited perylene films. The plasma deposited adamantane films have been characterized by secondary-ion mass spectrometry and FT-IR spectroscopy. These techniques and atomic force microscopy (AFM) have been also used for the characterization of the nanocomposite films. Their optical properties (UV-vis absorption, fluorescence, and refractive index) have been also determined and their sensing properties toward NO 2 studied. It is found that samples with the perylene molecules embedded within the transparent plasma deposited matrix are highly sensitive toward this gas and that the sensitivity of the films can be adjusted by modifying the aggregation state of the perylene molecules, as determined by the analysis of their fluorescence spectra. By monitoring the fluorescence emission of these films, it has been possible to detect a NO 2 concentration as low as 0.5 ppm in air at room temperature. Because of their chemical stability and transparency in the UV region, the remote plasma deposited adamantane thin films have revealed as an optimum host matrix for the development of photonically active composites for sensing applications. © 2012 American Chemical Society.

This work reports the synthesis at room temperature of transparent and colored WxSiyOz thin films by magnetron sputtering (MS) from a single cathode. The films were characterized by a large set of techniques including X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), and Raman spectroscopies. Their optical properties were determined by the analysis of the transmission and reflection spectra. It was found that both the relative amount of tungsten in the W–Si MS target and the ratio O2/Ar in the plasma gas were critical parameters to control the blue coloration of the films. The long-term stability of the color, attributed to the formation of a high concentration of W5+ and W4+ species, has been related with the formation of W–O–Si bond linkages in an amorphous network. At normal geometry (i.e., substrate surface parallel to the target) the films were rather compact, whereas they were very porous and had less tungsten content when deposited in a glancing angle configuration. In this case, they presented outstanding electrochromic properties characterized by a fast response, a high coloration, a complete reversibility after more than one thousand cycles and a relatively very low refractive index in the bleached state.

Ta2O5 thin films with different nanostructure and surface roughness have been prepared by electron evaporation at different angles between the evaporation source and the substrates. Large variation of refraction indexes (n) from 1.40 to 1.80 were obtained by changing the geometry of evaporation and/or by annealing the evaporated films at increasing temperatures up to 1000 °C to make them crystalline. Very flat and compact thin films (n ) 2.02) were also obtained by assisting the growth by bombardment with O2 + ions of 800 eV kinetic energy. A similar correlation has been found between the wetting contact angle of water and the roughness of the films for the evaporated and evaporated + annealed samples, irrespective of their procedure of preparation and other microstructural characteristics. When the films were illuminated with UV light of h > Eg ) 4.2 eV (Eg, band gap energy of Ta2O5), their surface became superhydrophilic (contact angle < 10°) in a way quite similar to those reported for illuminated TiO2 thin films. The rate of transformation into the superhydrophilic state was smaller for the crystalline than for the amorphous films, suggesting that in Ta2O5 the size of crystal domains at the surface is an important parameter for the control of this kinetics. Changes in the water contact angle on films illuminated with visible light were also found when they were subjected to implantation with N2 + ions of 800 eV kinetic energy. The origin of this photoactivity is discussed in terms of the electronic band gap states associated with the nitrogen-implanted atoms. The possibility of preparing antireflective and self-cleaning coatings of Ta2O5 is discussed.

This work reports about the preparation of plasma polymerized thin films of perylene with thicknesses ∼30−150 nm and their characterization by different methods and the analysis of their optical properties. Highly absorbent and fluorescent films have been obtained by this method that combines the sublimation of the perylene molecules and their controlled polymerization by the interaction with remote Ar plasma. The polymeric films are very flat with a root mean square (rms) roughness in the range 0.3−0.4 nm. In contrast with the sublimated layers of perylene that present a high scattering of light, the polymerized films depict the well-defined absorption bands in the region 400−450 nm and fluorescence spectra of the perylene molecule at ∼475 nm. The films are formed by a matrix formed by cross-linked fragments of perylene and intact molecules that confer the observed optical properties to this material. The optical and microstructural characteristics of this type of thin films and the possibility to perform their deposition by using lithographic procedures make them suitable for their integration into photonic components for various applications. A preliminary study of the use of these films as an optical sensor of NO₂ is also presented.

This work reports about the preparation of plasma polymerized thin films of perylene with thicknesses ̃30-150 nm and their characterization by different methods and the analysis of their optical properties. Highly absorbent and fluorescent films have been obtained by this method that combines the sublimation of the perylene molecules and their controlled polymerization by the interaction with remote Ar plasma. The polymeric films are very flat with a root mean square (rms) roughness in the range 0.3-0.4 nm. In contrast with the sublimated layers of perylene that present a high scattering of light, the polymerized films depict the well-defined absorption bands in the region 400-450 nm and fluorescence spectra of the perylene molecule at ̃475 nm. The films are formed by a matrix formed by cross-linked fragments of perylene and intact molecules that confer the observed optical properties to this material. The optical and microstructural characteristics of this type of thin films and the possibility to perform their deposition by using lithographic procedures make them suitable for their integration into photonic components for various applications. A preliminary study of the use of these films as an optical sensor of NO2 is also presented. © 2009 American Chemical Society.

Herein we report an analysis of the variation of the optical properties of different nanoparticle-based one-dimensional photonic crystal architectures versus changes in the ambient vapor pressure. Gradual shift of the optical response provides us with information on the sorption properties of these structures and allow us to measure precise adsorption isotherms of these porous multilayers. The potential of nanoparticle-based one-dimensional photonic crystals as base materials for optical sensing devices is demonstrated in this way. © 2008 American Chemical Society.

The vapor sorption properties of multilayers made of ordered mesoporous thin films with tailored composition and mesostructure are herein investigated. Optical reflectance measurements versus partial pressure of several vapors are performed to analyze the interplay between the affinity to and the accessibility of the different types of layers in the structure. We find that the behavior of a mesoporous oxide layer within the multilayer largely differs from that of the isolated thin film, its sorption properties being determined by the interaction with neighboring films. An explanation of the phenomena observed in these complex systems is provided in terms of the pore size, the affinity of each type of layer to specific compounds, and the effect of neighboring layers in the sorption properties of bilayers by an independent environmental ellipsometric study. © 2008 American Chemical Society.