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Statistical methods are employed to assess the extent to which measurements of temperature using downward looking infrared thermometry (T0) are indicative of the effective boundary between the air and the subsurface environment. An effective interfacial surface temperature (Te) is determined from consideration of in-air (Ta) and subsurface (Ts) temperature data, being that which best satisfies the multi-media (air and soil) flux relationships. Using data obtained in studies conducted in Ohio in 2015, it is shown that during the daytime measured values of T0 exceeded Te by an amount reaching a near-noon maximum of about 2 °C when the crop (maize) was fully grown. Night-time observations indicated a near equality of T0 and Te, although often equality appears threatened by the presence of strongly stable layers in air near the surface. Ramifications of the observed differences are discussed, with particular attention to implications regarding determination of the thermal roughness length associated with the sensible heat flux.

The catalyst has a significant role in gas processing applications such as reforming technologies for H2 and syngas production. The stable catalyst is requisite for any industrial catalysis application to make it commercially viable. Several methods are employed to synthesize the catalysts. However, there is still a challenge to achieve a controlled morphology and pure catalyst which majorly influences the catalytic activity in reforming applications. The conventional methods are expansive, and the removal of the impurities are major challenges. Nevertheless, it is not straightforward to achieve the desired structure and stability. Therefore, significant interest has been developed on the advanced techniques to take control of the physicochemical properties of the catalyst through non-thermal plasma (NTP) techniques. In this review, the systematic evolution of the catalyst synthesis using NTP technique is elucidated. The emerging DBD plasma to synthesized and effective surface treatment is reviewed. DBD plasma synthesized catalyst performance in reforming application for H2 and syngas production is summarised. Furthermore, the status of DBD plasma for catalyst synthesis and proposed future avenues to design environmentally suitable and cost-effective synthesis techniques are discussed.

Understanding the physical properties of dust aggregates is of great importance in planetary science. In this study, we revisited the sticking property of submillimetre-sized aggregates. We revealed that the "effective surface energy" model used in previous studies underestimates the critical pulling force needed to separate two sticking aggregates. We also derived a new and simple model of the critical pulling force based on the canonical theory of two contacting spheres. Our findings indicate that we do not need to consider the "effective surface energy" of dust aggregates when discussing the physical properties of loose agglomerates of submillimetre-sized aggregates., 4 pages, 2 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS

The main feature of amphiphilic homopolymers is the effective surface activity of their monomer units, due to which, in selective solvent, they can aggregate into various structures, some of which ...

Surface roughening of hollow glass microspheres (HGMs) is a necessary step determining their adhesion ability with the following electroless plated metallization coating. In this paper, a new KF roughening and alkali washing strategy was proposed to replace HF roughening as a surface pretreatment for the following electroless plating metallization. In order to remove the byproduct of K2SiF6 from the roughening reaction of KF with HGMs, NaOH washing and KOH washing were conducted, the former of which was found to dissolve K2SiF6 effectively. The effects of KF roughening temperature, alkali concentration and HGMs loading on the recovery ratio, phase composition, surface morphology and performance of HGMs were investigated, through which such a pretreating strategy was found to not only decrease the damage ratio of HGMs compared to that by HF roughening, but also render the metallized HGMs a competitive absorbing ability for the electromagnetic wave in X-band and Ku-band. Finally, the related surface treatment and electroless plating mechanism were discussed. This paper illustrates successfully a new pretreatment strategy for development of lightweight HGMs-supported functional materials.

Burnishing is well known as a very economical and effective surface enhancement method. It not only improves surface finish but also surface hardness. This work proposes a novel approach for proces...

We studied homogeneity in the microwave surface resistance of Au-coated YBa2Cu3O7−δ (Au/YBCO) films. The Au/YBCO film with 4-inches in diameter was prepared in-situ with the thicknesses of 68 nm and 365 nm for the Au layer and the YBa2Cu3O7−δ (YBCO) layer, respectively. We measured the effective surface resistance (RS,eff) of the Au/YBCO film at temperatures of 25 K, 60 K, 70 K, and 77 K, respectively, at 29 different positions on the film. The RS,eff values were analyzed with the finite thicknesses of the Au and the YBCO layers taken into consideration. The local RS,eff values of the Au/YBCO film appeared to be almost uniform at 25 K. Meanwhile significant positional dependences were observed for the RS,eff of the Au/YBCO film at 60 K, 70 K and 77 K, respectively, which seemed to be due to non-uniform local penetration depth (λ) of the YBCO layer rather than due to variations in the local real-part conductivity of the YBCO layer. The observed results could not be attributed to the properties of the Au layer. At temperatures below the critical temperature of YBCO, the observed RS,eff values of the Au/YBCO film were significantly lower than those estimated using the surface resistance of Au and YBCO, which reflected proximity effects of the normal-metal Au layer in contact with the superconducting YBCO layer. Homogeneity in the RS,eff of the Au/YBCO film might be correlated with the distributions in the local λ of the YBCO layer, providing valuable information needed for designing microwave filters.

Results are presented from molecular dynamics modeling of the crystallization of a supercooled Lennard-Jones liquid. Calculations are made for three isobars at positive and negative pressures. The height of the crystallization activation barrier is determined via metadynamics, and the size dependence is calculated for the effective surface free energy at the liquid–critical crystal nucleus interface.

The lithium-ion capacitor (LIC) has attracted tremendous research interest because it meets both the requirement on high energy and power densities. The balance between effective surface areas and mass transport is highly desired to fabricate the optimized electrode material for LIC. Now, triple-shelled (3S) Nb2 O5 hollow multi-shelled structures (HoMSs) were synthesized for the first time through the sequential templating approach and then applied for the anode of LIC. The unique structure of HoMSs, such as large efficient surface area, hierarchical pores, and multiple shells, provides abundant reaction sites, decreases the electron transport resistance, and increases the diffusion rate for ion transport. In this case, the best combination performance has been achieved among all the reported Nb2 O5 -based materials, which delivered an excellent energy and power densities simultaneously, and superb cycling stability.

Interface modification is an important means for improving the performance of almost all optoelectronic devices. In quantum-dot-sensitized solar cells (QDSCs), effective surface modification of pho...

Dynamics of changes in fluorine atoms distribution through grown anodic oxide layer thickness and the effective surface charge on InAs crystals under such layers has been studied. Anodic oxidation was performed in alkaline electrolyte with fluorochemical additive component in galvanostatic mode at anode current densities 0.05 or 0.5 mA·cm−2. The layers thickness in boundes 32—51 nm varied by electrodes final voltage setting in range 15—25 V. The layer thickness and refractive index was measured by ellipsometric method, and distribution of fluorine atoms through thickness — by photoelectron−spectroscopy method, combined with ion etching. At the same time, based on grown layers there were produced MIS structures, and from calculation of theirs capacitance−voltage characteristics are determined effective surface charge and surface states density, corresponding to different layer thicknesses.Main results are reduced to the facts during layers growing despite of anodizing current density comes their sealing, the profile of fluorine atoms distribution shifts towards InAs, positive effective surface charge gradually decreases from 3.6 · 1011 to 2.0 · 1011 cm−2 at surface states density in (6—7) · 1011 eV·cm−2 range for all cases. Based on comparison of these data and theoretical concepts of MIS structure charge construction, there was made a conclusion about gradual built−in charge distancing from the border with InAs in the process of growing anodic oxide layer, which explains observed effective surface charge decrease during layer thickness increasing. This results indicates that the layer growth rate exceeds the built−in charge displacement rate towards InAs.

Heavy metals (HMs) pose serious threat to both human and environmental health and therefore, effective and low-cost techniques to remove HMs are urgently required. Because HMs are difficult to be biodegraded and transformed, adsorption is a most promising treatment method in recent times. Biochar (BC), a low-cost and sustainable adsorbent material, has recently attracted much research attention due to its broad application prospects. While BC has many merits, it has a lower HMs adsorption efficiency than traditional activated carbon, limiting its practical applications. Furthermore, the HMs retained by BC are difficult to be desorbed, making the used sorbent material hazardous wastes if not well disposed of under natural conditions. Therefore, it is critical to seek effective surface modifications for BC, to improve its ability to HMs removal ability and the recyclability of BC loaded with HMs. This review represents and evaluates the reported modification methods for BC, the corresponding HMs removal mechanisms and the potential for reutilization of BC loaded with HMs. This review provides a basis for the effective practical application of BC in the treatment of HMs containing wastewater.

A liquid marble (LM) is a droplet coated with microparticles that isolate the liquid interior from its surroundings, making it perfectly non-wetting. This attractive feature allows the LM to perform useful tasks such as coalescence, targeted delivery, and controlled release. The non-wetting characteristic also allows the LM to float on a carrier liquid. The growing number of applications in digital microfluidics requires further insights into the fundamental properties of a LM such as its effective surface tension. Although the coating provides the LM with various desirable characteristics, its random construction presents a major obstacle to accurate optical analysis. This paper presents a novel method to measure the effective surface tension of a floating LM using X-ray imaging and curve fitting procedures. X-ray imaging reveals the true LM liquid-air interface hidden by the coating particles. Analysis of this interface showed that the effective surface tension of a LM is not significantly different from that of its liquid content. This indicates that the particle coating might not have significantly altered the behaviour of the liquid interface. We also found that our method is sensitive enough to detect the variations across individual LMs.

The localized release of energy at the surface of plasma-exposed materials plays a crucial role in many plasma-driven processes. Unfortunately, the interaction between low-temperature plasmas and surfaces is both poorly understood and difficult to characterize. Here, we use Raman thermometry to measure the temperature of graphene during plasma exposure. We observe a significant increase in the graphene temperature even for modest input plasma powers. These results suggest that two-dimensional materials are effective surface probes for the quantitative characterization of plasma-induced heating effects and for further investigation of the plasma-surface interaction.

As an integral part of our culture and way of life, language is intricately related to migrations of people. To understand whether and how migration shapes language formation processes we examine the dynamics of the naming game with migrating agents. (i) When all agents may migrate, the dynamics generates an effective surface tension, which drives the coarsening. Such a behaviour is very robust and appears for a wide range of densities of agents and their migration rates. (ii) However, when only multilingual agents are allowed to migrate, monolingual islands are typically formed. In such a case, when the migration rate is sufficiently large, the majority of agents acquire a common language, which spontaneously emerges with no indication of the surface-tension driven coarsening. A relatively slow coarsening that takes place in a dense static population is very fragile, and most likely, an arbitrarily small migration rate can divert the system toward quick formation of monolingual islands. Our work shows that migration influences language formation processes but additional details like density, or mobility of agents are needed to specify more precisely this influence., Comment: 14 pages, accepted in Entropy

One of the well‐known strategies for achieving high‐performance light‐activated gas sensors is to design a nanostructure for effective surface responses with its geometric advances. However, no study has gone beyond the benefits of the large surface area and provided fundamental strategies to offer a rational structure for increasing their optical and chemical performances. Here, a new class of UV‐activated sensing nanoarchitecture made of highly periodic 3D TiO2, which facilitates 55 times enhanced light absorption by confining the incident light in the nanostructure, is prepared as an active gas channel. The key parameters, such as the total 3D TiO2 film and thin‐shell thicknesses, are precisely optimized by finite element analysis. Collectively, this fundamental design leads to ultrahigh chemoresistive response to NO2 with a theoretical detection limit of ≈200 ppt. The demonstration of high responses with visible light illumination proposes a future perspective for light‐activated gas sensors based on semiconducting oxides., The high‐performance light‐activated NO2 gas sensors using 3D TiO2 nanostructures are achieved by the unique light harvesting properties of the nanoporous structures. The light scattering effects from optical maze‐like nanostructures and numerous intermediate energy states from atomic layer deposition of the film electronically activate 3D TiO2 and enhance its gas sensing performance under UV illumination.

Herein, Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles (CD-MNPs, CM-CD-MNPs and MA-CD-MNPs) surface-modified with β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and its derivatives, carboxymethyl-β-CD (CM-β-CD) and maleated-β-CD (MA-β-CD), respectively, were successfully synthesized via a layer-by-layer method, and the resulting nanocarriers possessed good magnetic character and biocompatibility. Using carmofur as a model drug, the results of loading and release experiments indicate that these magnetic nanocarriers can serve as targeted drug delivery systems in the future, and the loading capacity and release behaviour are highly dependent on the surface properties of the nanocarriers. Based on the molecular docking technique, for the first time, the correlation between the lowest binding energy (ΔGbinding) of the inclusion complex and the loading and release performances of the corresponding magnetic nanocarriers was investigated to establish a method to fast select an effective β-CD-based surface coating for the construction of high-performance magnetic nanocarriers. The results revealed a ΔGbinding-dependent manner demonstrating that the magnetic nanocarriers surface modified with the cyclodextrin unit with a larger absolute value of ΔGbinding would possess better loading and release performances. This encouraging result suggested that the ΔGbinding obtained from molecular docking could provide a significant reference for the fast selection of an effective surface coating during the construction of high-performance β-CD-based magnetic nanocarriers. Although it is clear that the present study should be considered only as a preliminary study, the good results obtained herein demonstrate the feasibility of this new type of approach.

The existence of residual lithium compounds (RLCs) on the surface of layered Ni-rich materials will deteriorate the electrochemical properties and cause safety problem. This work presents an effective surface washing method to remove the RLCs from LiNi0.90Co0.06Mn0.04O2 material surface, via ethyl alcohol solution that contains low concentration of boric acid. It is a low-cost process because the filter liquor can be recycled. The optimal parameters including washing time, boric acid concentration, and solid–liquid ratio were systematically studied. It has been determined by powder pH and Fourier transform infrared spectra results that the amount of RLCs was reduced effectively, and the storage performance was significantly enhanced for the washed samples. The 150th capacity retentions after storing had increased from 68.39% of pristine material to 85.46–94.84% of the washed materials. The performance enhancements should be ascribed to the surface washing process, which removed not only the RLCs, but also the loose primary particles effectively.

Despite the existence of several highly effective and well-characterized passivating materials for crystalline silicon surfaces, the topic of surface passivation and the investigation of new passivating materials remain of considerable interest for silicon photovoltaics research. However, the question of whether and under what circumstances a particular material will provide effective surface passivation remains difficult to answer. In this work, we provide an overview of recent insights relating to this question, drawing from our own work on novel passivation materials including MoOx, Nb2O5, TiOx, ZnO, and POx, and illustrated with experimental results. Factors that strongly influence the passivation performance include the use of pre-grown interfacial oxides, the film thickness, the annealing conditions, and the presence of capping layers. The impact of these factors on the surface passivation can vary widely from material to material. Therefore, all of these factors should be taken into account when investigating potential new surface passivation materials.

Liquid marble is a suitable candidate for transporting and targeted releasing of reagents and analytes. The moment of the disruption of liquid marble are controlled by using external stimuli nowadays. This work aims to achieve a disruption of liquid marbles by an internal stimulus. Liquid marbles containing triton X-100 were prepared by rolling method. The influence of the concentration of triton X-100 in droplets on the stability and the life time of the liquid marbles was investigated. The mass of the silica nanoparticles coating liquid marbles and the effective surface tension of liquid marbles were measured. The resulted showed that the life time of liquid marbles could be tuned on time scales of several minutes to hours by controlling the concentration of triton X-100 in the droplets. The number of the layers of the silica particles coating the liquid marble was about 168. The decrease of the amount of silica nanoparticles at the surface of the droplet did not affect the effective surface tension of the liquid marbles significantly. By controlling the concentration of triton X-100 in the droplets, the timed coalescing of two liquid marbles also could be achieved. A mechanism for the disintegrating of liquid marbles triggered by the adsorption of triton X-100 was proposed.

The aim of this research is to identify the operational conditions and performance of low cost tubular digesters producing biogas from the slaughterhouse wastewater treatment. Three full scale sequenced tubular digesters (of more than 8 m3 each), operating in a slaughterhouse in Cochabamba (Bolivia), have been monitored during one year. The Organic Load Rate (OLR) varied from 0.04 to 1.13 kgSV/m3d (0.04–1.07 kgCOD/m3d), and the Hydraulic Retention Time (HRT) from 3.2 to 87.4 days. The passive solar heating design considered drove the slurry temperature to 27 °C, 8 °C more than mean ambient temperature. The first digester has been filled with soda bottle plastic rings in order to increase the internal effective surface and evaluate, obtaining that an increment in 67% of the internal effective surface, more than doubles the biogas production and enables higher OLRs. A Biogas Production Rate (BPR) peak of 0.2 m3/m3d was observed for OLR = 0.37 kgSV/m3d, HRT = 9.7d and Specific Biogas Production (SBP) = 0.55 m3/kgSV. COD removal achieves values above 70% from HRT>19 d. A comparison with other anaerobic digestion technologies demonstrates that low cost tubular digesters with biofilm carriers, are competitive for OLR

We presented further analysis to explain how the surface morphology influence the mobility of the organic thin film transistors with gate insulator having large undulated surface (GU-OTFTs) and introduced a new parameter in order to clearly understand the relation between surface roughness and field-effect mobility. The average of the slope between two adjacent points on the surface of a gate insulator, or effective surface smoothness (ES), was closely investigated. A smooth-contact-pressing (SCP) process affected the surface smoothness of the P(VDF-TrFE) insulator with a significant change in root-mean-square roughness (Zrms). It was found that the ES gives better explanation for the variation of the field-effect mobility of the GU-OTFTs than the Zrms.

An atmospheric pressure surface dielectric barrier discharge (SDBD) was used for surface treatment of Polypropylene (PP) and Polyethylene (PE) nonwoven fabrics which are widely used in filtration media, oil adsorbents, biomedical textiles, etc. The SDBD reactor has been built using the Printed Circuit Board (PCB) which is an inexpensive material available in the local market. The use of the PCB led to the ease of fabrication of a low-cost discharge electrode system that can be scaled up without difficulty. The effect of the plasma treatment on the hydrophilic behavior of the treated samples was studied using water contact angle (WCA) measurements. The microstructure of the PP and PE nonwoven fabrics before and after plasma treatment was characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The results showed that the plasma treatment converted the fiber surface from smooth to textured surface. This resulted in enhancing the wettability of both materials but with more pronounced effect on the PP.

Monitoring of trace amount of acetaminophen and estrogen in drinking water is of great importance because of their potential links to gastrointestinal diseases and breast and prostate cancers. The sensitive and accurate detection of acetaminophen and estrogen requires the development of advanced sensing materials that possess appropriate number of analyte-capturing sites and suitable signal conduction path. This can be achieved by implementing appropriate chemical attachment of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and β-cyclodextrin (βCD). Here, we report a systematic investigation of four types of modified MWCNT-βCD: (1) physical mixing, (2) "click reaction", (3) thionyl chloride esterification, and (4) Steglich esterification. The Steglich esterification is a one-step approach with shorter reaction time, lower reaction temperature, and eliminates handling of air/moisture-sensitive reagents. MWCNT-βCD prepared by Steglich esterification possessed moderate βCD loading (5-10 wt %), large effective surface area, and fast electron transfer. The host-guest interaction of βCD and redox properties of MWCNT enabled sensitive detection of acetaminophen and 17β-estradiol (E2 is a primary female sex hormone) in the range of 0.005-20 and 0.01-15 μM, with low detection limits of 3.3 and 2.5 nM, respectively. We demonstrated accurate detection results of pharmaceutical compositions in water and urine samples. These results indicate that Steglich esterification method may be applied in fabricating pharmaceutical contaminants sensors for health and environmental applications.

We have fabricated hybrids of two-dimensional silica colloidal crystals and gold nanospheres for the development of platforms showing effective SERS phenomenon with a high spatial reproducibility. The SERS signal of 4-mercaptobenzoic acid immobilized on the hybrids was enhanced up to 10.4 times by optimizing the silica diameter, as compared with that on the gold nanospheres immobilized on a planar glass plate. We propose that the effective enhancement is induced by hot spots generated at the junction regions between the silica nanospheres.

Functional nanoparticles possess great potential for precise diagnosis and optimum therapy of serious diseases. However, their application is limited by structural heterogeneity and physical properties, low drug-loading efficiency, the absence of effective drug release, and some undetermined physiological and biochemical properties. Effective surface modification is able to overcome these limitations and largely improve the application performance of functional nanoparticles in biomedicine. Nevertheless, chemical or physical surface modifications using conventional surfactants are difficult to ensure homogeneous construction and normal metabolism of nanoparticles in vivo. Recent progress in this field has demonstrated that nucleic acid-modified nanoparticles can attain efficient transport, steady state and rational metabolism, as well as clear targeting and controllable drug release. All of these advantages are attributed to the special steric structure, homology, and biological functions of nucleic acids. Moreover, abundant active sites on the nucleic acid skeleton not only facilitate the direct or indirect connection of nanoparticles, but also support retention of the functions of both nanoparticles themselves and nucleic acids. In this review, we summarize the outstanding respective characteristics and prospects of nucleic acid-modified nanoparticles. In addition, primary surface modification techniques for preparing nucleic acid-modified nanoparticles, including non-scaffold-mediated modification and scaffold-mediated modification, were highlighted. Furthermore, interactions between nanoparticles and nucleic acids, as well as the effects of modification techniques on the properties of nucleic acid modified nanoparticles, are discussed in detail.

Polymer brushes have been demonstrated as versatile and effective surface modification method to achieve unparalleled control over surface properties and functionality. Here, this review mainly highlights the intriguing performance and functionalities of zwitterionic polymer brushes with anti-polyelectrolyte property for a variety of applications in protein resistance, antibacterial activity, surface wetting, and surface frication. Different from other hydrophilic polymer brushes, zwitterionic brushes exhibit the unique zwitterionic-induced anti-polyelectrolyte effect, allowing for the development of new smart polymers and polymer-coated surfaces.

In addition to the traditional existed static model, the dynamic model is proposed to investigate the thickness ( ${d}$ ) dependence of tribo-dielectric layer (TDL) with the device performance in the triboelectric nanogenerators (Tengs) in this work. With the involvement of one material parameter, i.e., electron-hole recombination rate ( ${r}$ ) near the TDL in our developed dynamic model, the d dependence of TDL for the effective surface charge ( ${Q}_{s}$ ) and output current ( ${I}$ ) in the Tengs is derived. The maximum ${I}$ ( ${I}_{{\text {max}}}$ ) with the optimized TDL thickness ( ${d}_{{\text {max}}}$ ) is further obtained with the consideration of different r. It can be found that the larger value of ${r}$ in the material results in the smaller value of ${I}_{{\text {max}}}$ and the larger value of ${d}_{{\text {max}}}$ . At the same time, the theoretical dynamic model is compared with the experimental data. With the designed spin coating speed and time for the TDL deposition, the Tengs with different ${d}$ is demonstrated and studied experimentally. The experimental data and the theoretical dynamic model agree very well with each other.

A schematic model of a natural molecular motor is proposed. It uses the change of the free energy surface to an effective surface as long as the enzyme is active. This effective surface acts as a trapdoor and explains the power stroke in biomotors, as well as its unidirectional movement. Then a thermal relaxation can do the energy transduction of the motor. The model uses Newton trajectories to explain the movement of stationary points on the effective surface.

A new type of wound dressing that can be easily peeled from a wound during frequent changes is essential in clinical applications to reduce secondary trauma and relieve the pain suffered by patients. Here, we discover that a phase-transitioned lysozyme nanofilm (PTLF) composed of self-assembled protein nanoparticles with an amyloid-like internal structure can be disassembled and detached from a substrate surface under the stimulus of vitamin C solution. Accordingly, stimuli-responsive gauze coated with this phase-transitioned lysozyme nanofilm (PTLF@gauze) was developed. This novel wound dressing, PLTF@gauze, was fabricated through a simple, universal and environmentally benign approach by immersing pristine gauze in the lysozyme phase transition aqueous solution for minutes. In comparison with pristine gauze, the PTLF@gauze can be peeled from a mouse wound with less strength, causing less secondary trauma. This is due to the disassembly and detachment of the PTLF from the gauze in the presence of vitamin C, which is entirely different from normal low-adherent wound dressings based on anti-fouling. Additionally, the PTLF@gauze was shown to accelerate wound closure using a murine wound healing model owing to the anti-infection properties of PTLF. This work thus provides an effective surface modification method for medical devices and suggests the great potential applications of self-assembled proteinaceous coatings in wound care.

Roads are exposed to road surface disruptions (RSD) because of erosion, poor water drainage, rain, and soil quality. A delay in maintenance results in severe road damage that blocks the traffic for several days. Up to now, RSD detection on unpaved roads is done manually or reported by drivers. Conversely, different techniques have already been proposed for paved roads, such as vibration, image, and laser scanning. Unfortunately, the methods proposed for paved roads are not directly applicable for unpaved roads due to constraints and properties of RSD and pothole on unpaved roads. Therefore, this paper proposes a novel and low-cost method of detecting RSD based on ultrasonic sensors. The suggested model uses, as input data, relative distances collected by ultrasonic sensor beams, compute the approximate potholes and bumps on surfaces and outputs 2-D surface state map. This innovative and applicable approach has been tested on unpaved and paved roads and showed an accuracy of 94% regarding pothole characteristics (size, surface, and depth) on both paved and unpaved roads. A pothole detection rate of 62% was achieved on the paved road. Furthermore, the implemented algorithm is adaptable through a number of thresholds along with the desirable surface-sensor distance, the required RSD, the sensor’s velocity, and the distance between measurements. The results showed that the system could detect RSD and give valuable information which can help the maintenance team to plan for repair.

The liquid marble covered with a xerogel-derived nanoparticle monolayer is emerging as a simple and ideal physical model for fundamental study. In this work, the effective surface tension, γeff, of this kind of water marble was studied by employing an optimized capillary rise method. This method is distinctive as it can reveal γeff at a specific point rather than the average γeff over the entire marble. γeff at the maximum lateral diameter position was investigated with particle coverage varying from 100% to 10%, showing a quite slow increasing trend from ∼64 to 72 mN m-1. The delay in the evolution of the γeff was attributed to the slow decline in the areal particle density on the side area of the marble. For comparative purposes, the maximum height method was also employed to determine γeff. The results of the two methods supported the position that a liquid marble's γeff depended on very specific conditions including the measurement method and all marble parameters.

Solid-state batteries (SSBs) have already attracted significant attention due to their potential to offer high energy density and excellent safety as compared to the currently used lithium-ion batteries with liquid electrolytes. The use of a lithium anode in SSBs is extremely important to realize these advantages. Starting from the synthesis of a highly conductive cubic garnet solid electrolyte (Li6.375La3Zr1.375Nb0.625O12, LLZNO) using Nb as a structure stabilizer, in this study, we demonstrated the resolution of interfacial problems between the garnet electrolyte and lithium anode and the integration of the lithium anode into garnet-based SSBs by modifying the as-synthesized LLZNO with a Sn thin film. Due to the Sn modification, the interfacial resistances between the garnet electrolyte and the lithium anode decreased approximately 20 times to only 46.6 Ω cm2. The fast and reversible lithium plating/stripping under high current densities and the excellent battery performance of Li/Sn-LLZNO/LiFePO4 full cells were achieved. This improvement is ascribed to the formation of a Li–Sn alloy interlayer, which severs as a self-limited stable and conductive interface, bridging the garnet electrolyte and the lithium anode and enabling fast and stable lithium transport. As a proof-of-concept, this effective surface modification method will offer inspirations to researchers for overcoming the interfacial problems and promoting the development of high-performance SSBs.

A long-standing problem of liquid-marble based technology is the inconsistency of the effective surface tension values. This inconsistency could be due to particle size, particle type, volume of the liquid marble or the preparation method. The prevailing liquid marble preparation method is to roll a droplet on a powder bed. The lack of control of rolling duration or revolution speed could contribute to the inconsistent effective surface tension values. We hypothesize that a systematic preparation approach could improve the consistency of the effective surface tension values. In this work, we (i) determine the effective surface tension using the natural oscillation of a sessile liquid marble and (ii) investigate the effects of liquid marble preparation methods on the effective surface tension for the first time. We find that the effective surface tension values of a liquid marble prepared manually are inconsistent. In comparison, a systematic preparation method improves the consistency of the measured effective surface tension values. Interestingly, the systematic preparation at higher revolution speed causes interfacial jamming at the liquid marble shell which decreases the consistency. The results from this work can provide a deeper understanding of the fundamental characteristics of liquid marbles.

Effective surface modification to endow pyrolytic carbon (PYC) with long-term anti-thrombotic performance is highly demanded. In this work, a gradient hydrophobic surface on PYC was prepared by creating parallel ridges via the combination of laser etching technology and surface fluorosilanization. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observation confirms that the gradient hydrophobic surface is composed of a bare PYC region and four regions of parallel ridges with varying distances. The gradient hydrophobic surface is stable in air, phosphate buffer solution (PBS), and flowing PBS. Additionally, the gradient hydrophobic surface on PYC shows spontaneous droplet motion and much lower flow resistance than bare PYC. Compared to bare PYC, the gradient hydrophobic surface on PYC exhibits better blood compatibility and anti-adhesion performance. The results presented in this paper confirm that creating a gradient hydrophobic surface is an effective way of achieving long-lasting anti-thrombosis property.

The Cu-Co deposits of the Katangan Copperbelt are affected by a deep chemical weathering regime. Meteoric fluids leached mobile elements from the near-surface environment and have redistributed them further down, forming remobilised supergene Cu deposits at a depth of ~ 30–50 m which are highly economic. The same process has caused residual enrichment of less mobile elements such as Co, forming ‘cobalt caps’ in the near-surface above such supergene Cu deposits. Elements which are associated with hypogene Cu-Co mineralisation, but which are relatively immobile during supergene alteration, can make effective surface vectors to buried supergene Cu deposits; especially where these deposits have experienced a high degree of leaching and where high regional background Cu concentrations obscure surface Cu anomalies. This study uses an average-normalisation technique, applied to a large whole-rock-geochemistry database, to assess the variation in geochemistry between different depth intervals at the Mashitu South Cu-Co deposit. Geochemical variation by depth acts as an empirical proxy for element mobility during weathering, with the average concentrations of more mobile elements being depleted in the near surface profile. Of the major and trace elements which are known to be associated with hypogene mineralisation at Mashitu South, Cu, Ni, S and Zn are depleted in the near-surface environment, whereas Co, Bi, V, Mo, As and Fe experienced residual enrichment due to supergene alteration. Indeed, Bi and V exhibit an even greater degree of residual enrichment than Co, which is known as a surface pathfinder to Cu deposits in Katanga. It is suggested that Bi, V and Co would make effective surface vectors to Katangan Cu-Co deposits that have experienced a high degree of leaching; deposits which may evade detection by exploration solely for Cu surface anomalies. The average-normalisation technique utilised by this study can be used to identify immobile surface vectors to any polymetallic deposit which has been significantly affected by chemical weathering.

Molecular-beam-epitaxy (MBE) and atomic-layer-deposition (ALD) high-κ HfO 2 dielectrics have been in - situ deposited on MBE-grown pristine p - and n -In 0.53 Ga 0.47 As(0 0 1). The HfO 2 /In 0.53 Ga 0.47 As metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors (MOSCAPs) from both methods all exhibit excellent capacitance-voltage ( C - V ) characteristics with true inversion and low leakage current densities. Moreover, interfacial trap densities ( D it ’s) with no discernible peaks at the mid-gap were measured using the temperature-dependent conductance method. Both HfO 2 /InGaAs hetero-structures have exhibited outstanding thermal stabilities to 800 °C.

In an ideal plasmonic surface sensor, the bioactive area, where analytes are recognized by specific biomolecules, is surrounded by an area that is generally composed of a different material. The latter, often the surface of the supporting chip, is generally hard to be selectively functionalized, with respect to the active area. As a result, cross talks between the active area and the surrounding one may occur. In designing a plasmonic sensor, various issues must be addressed: the specificity of analyte recognition, the orientation of the immobilized biomolecule that acts as the analyte receptor, and the selectivity of surface coverage. The objective of this tutorial review is to introduce the main rational tools required for a correct and complete approach to chemically functionalize plasmonic surface biosensors. After a short introduction, the review discusses, in detail, the most common strategies for achieving effective surface functionalization. The most important issues, such as the orientation of active molecules and spatial and chemical selectivity, are considered. A list of well-defined protocols is suggested for the most common practical situations. Importantly, for the reported protocols, we also present direct comparisons in term of costs, labor demand, and risk vs benefit balance. In addition, a survey of the most used characterization techniques necessary to validate the chemical protocols is reported.

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) cells fabricated using environment-friendly colloidal quantum dots (QDs) are promising optoelectronic devices for future practical solar-to-hydrogen conversion. However, the majority of current eco-friendly QDs-based PEC cells exhibited low efficiency mainly due to the charge trapping at QDs’ surface states and interfacial recombination processes in devices. Here, eco-friendly AgInS2 (AIS) QDs-based PEC cells passivated with variable ZnS layers were fabricated and the effects of ZnS surface passivation on corresponding device performance were investigated. It is demonstrated that optimizing the thickness of the ZnS passivation layers can largely suppress the charge trapping/recombination and enhance the electron injection efficiency in the PEC devices, leading to a saturated photocurrent density of ~5.7 mA/cm2 under standard AM 1.5 G solar illumination. Increasing the thickness of ZnS passivation layers can further inhibit the photocorrosion and give rise to higher device stability. These results indicate that ZnS surface passivation is a facile and efficient technique to boost the performance of eco-friendly QDs-based PEC cells.

We present a molecular dynamics study of the motion of cylindrical polymer droplets on striped surfaces. We first consider the equilibrium properties of droplets on different surfaces, we show that for small stripes the Cassie-Baxter equation gives a good approximation of the equilibrium contact angle. As the stripe width becomes non-negligible compared to the dimension of the droplets, the droplet has to deform significantly to minimize its free energy, this results in a smaller value of the contact angle than the continuum model predicts. We then evaluate the slip length, and thus the damping coefficient as a function of the stripe width. For very small stripes, the heterogeneous surface behaves as an effective surface, with the same damping as an homogeneous surface with the same contact angle. However, as the stripe width increases, damping at the surface increases until reaching a plateau. Afterwards, we study the dynamics of droplets under a bulk force. We show that if the stripes are large enough the droplets are pinned until a critical acceleration. The critical acceleration increases linearly with stripe width. For large enough accelerations, the average velocity increases linearly with the acceleration, we show that it can then be predicted by a model depending only the size of droplet, viscosity and slip length. We show that the velocity of the droplet varies sinusoidally as a function of its position on the substrate. On the other hand, for accelerations just above the depinning acceleration we observe a characteristic stick-slip motion, with successive pinnings and depinnings., Submitted to Phys. Rev. E

In this attempt, melting of PCM due to hot air from ambient within sunny day has been scrutinized. To bring the opportunity for PCM to observe more heat from hot air flow, nanoparticles was dispersed in to RT28. To augment the effective surface the duct was fabricated with sinusoidal walls. Outputs demonstrate the liquid fraction and heat flux as well as temperature distribution. At t = 40 h and a = 5, Liquid fraction reaches to 0.9 and such values increase to 0.97 if a augments to 10 mm. When a = 10, liquid fraction at t = 40 h, 5.91 times greater than that of t = 5 h. Q profile for both cases reduced with augment of time but different behavior was reported for effect of amplitude. Greater values of a, provides higher Q when t 31 h. Heat flux augments about 2.9% with augment of amplitude of wavy wall.

Bone repair devices with proper mechanical strength and high biocompatibilities are highly appealing in clinical treatment. The currently widely used Poly (ether ketone) (PEEK) substrate suffers poor hydrophilicity and thus risks potential failures. This study reports an effective surface engineering strategy to achieve biomimetic interfaces to enhance the biocompatibility and osteogenesis abilities of PEEK. The interface comprising collagen and CaP simulates nature bone tissues in both componential and porous structural traits. In vitro evaluations indicated that gene and protein expression towards osteogenesis on the modified PEEK surface effectively increased thanks to the special surface morphologies. In vivo experiments demonstrated that the modified PEEK substrates lead to remarkably stronger osteogenesis effects.

Pulsed-waterjet (PWJ) technology holds potential for the biologically effective surface treatment of dental titanium implants. In addition to the proliferative response of in vitro models for gingiva (NIH/3T3s) and bone (Saos-2) cells, our study investigates the osteogenic potential of PWJ-treated titanium surfaces by employing human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). The greatest proliferation of fibroblast NIH/3T3 and osteoblast-like Saos-2 cells was elicited on T1.76 and T4.83 treatment conditions, respectively. Morphological traits and the nuclear localization of an osteogenic reporter (OSX) indicate preferential osteogenic differentiation on the T2.43 condition. This work demonstrates the potential of PWJ technology for surface modification, supporting its technological translation as a cost-effective, environmentally friendly, and contaminant-free method to incorporate novel bioactive properties into titanium implants.

BACKGROUND The efficacy of a Beauveria bassiana-based formulation (Bb38) with Entostat, an electrostatically charged powder, was investigated as surface treatment against Cryptolestes ferrugineus, Oryzaephilus surinamensis and Sitophilus granarius adults. In lab bioassays, the efficacy of Bb38 against the aforementioned species was examined on concrete, plywood, steel and ceramic, whereas its residual efficacy against the same species was assessed on concrete and steel in the presence or absence of illumination. Finally, the efficacy of Bb38 against O. surinamensis and S. granarius adults was assessed in a commercial grain storage facility under realistic field conditions. RESULTS In the lab trials, O. surinamensis and C. ferrugineus were much more susceptible to Bb38 than S. granarius, on all types of surfaces. Moreover, Bb38 was, at least for O. surinamensis and C. ferrugineus, as effective as the chemical standard (deltamethrin) for at least two months after the application, regardless of the presence or absence of illumination. Finally, in the field trial Bb38 provided a satisfactory level of control against O. surinamensis. CONCLUSION Bb38 is an effective surface treatment, but its efficacy varies according to the target species, the type of surface and the time post-application. This is the first published report that examines the efficacy of Bb38 as a surface treatment for wider uses in empty warehouses and related storage facilities.

Ultrasonic shot peening (USP) is acknowledged as an effective surface treatment method to enhance the mechanical performance of materials by inducing compressive residual stress in solid metals and...

Liquid marbles are nonstick droplets wrapped by micro- or nanometrically scaled colloidal particles, representing a platform for a variety of chemical, biological, and microfluidics applications. Liquid marbles demonstrate elastic properties and do not coalesce when bounced or pressed. The effective surface tension and Young modulus of liquid marbles are discussed. Physical sources of the elasticity of liquid marbles are considered. Liquids and powders used for the fabrication of liquid marbles are surveyed. This feature article reviews properties and applications of liquid marbles. Liquid marbles demonstrate potential as microreactors, microcontainers for growing micro-organisms and cells, and microfluidics devices. The Marangoni-flow-driven self-propulsion of marbles supported by liquids is addressed.

We report characterization of the interface trap distribution (Dit(E)) over the bandgap in III–V metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) on insulator. Based only on the experimental subthreshold current data and differential coupling factor, we simultaneously obtained Dit(E) and a nonlinear mapping of the gate bias (VGS) to the trap level (Et) via the effective surface potential (ψS,eff). The proposed technique allows direct extraction of the interface traps at the In0.53Ga0.47As-on insulator (-OI) MOSFETs only from the experimental subthreshold current data. Applying the technique to the In0.53Ga0.47As channel III–V-OI MOSFETs with the gate width/length W/L = 100/50, 100/25, and 100/10 μm/μm, we obtained Dit(E) ≅ 1011–1012 eV−1 cm−2 over the bandgap without the dimension dependence.

Unlike conventional multi-wire sawn (CMWS) multi-crystalline silicon (mc-Si) wafers, diamond wire sawn (DWS) mc-Si wafers textured by conventional acidic solution of HF/HNO3 are not suitable for solar cells because visible saw marks set significant barriers in both cell performance and surface appearance. In this work, we have employed versatile strategies based on metal-assisted chemical etching (MACE) technique to eliminate the saw marks and realize effective surface textures on DWS mc-Si wafers, including nano-texture (N-T), micro-texture (M-T) and nano/micro-texture (N/M-T). Especially, benefiting from the tradeoff between optical gain and electrical loss, the efficiency of 18.45% for N/M-T based DWS mc-Si solar cells with a standard wafer size of 156×156 mm2 is reported to be higher by an absolute 0.57% compared with that of CMWS mc-Si solar cells (17.88%). Our work provides ways of fabricating DWS mc-Si solar cells with high efficiencies and satisfactory visual appearance.

Novel strategies for the modification and functionalization of bulk materials play an important role in material science. Among them, the mussel-inspired (MI) chemistry has emerged as effective surface functionalization methods and has been broadly for preparation of many multifunctional materials and composites with great potential for various applications. The MI chemistry was learned from the marine mussels and typically known as a facile tool to modify almost substrates regardless of their composition, size and structure etc. The process of MI chemistry is mainly depended on the self-polymerization of dopamine under alkaline environment and the formed polydopamine (PDA) could attach onto various substrates. By virtue of its gentle operate conditions, universality and easy post functionalization, MI chemistry has attracted great research upsurge and been extensively exploited in various fields including drug/gene delivery, energy storage, catalysis, water purification, sensor and so on. The attractive features and functionalities of PDA have also inspired great interest for their antibacterial applications. However, there are no reviews or feature articles that focused on the antimicrobial applications of targeted functionalized composites based on MI chemistry. Herein, we will highlight some typical and excellent works towards the development of novel antibacterial systems via MI chemistry. The challenges and further directions about these aspects have also summarized and discussed. We expect this article could provide some valuable insights and inspire further development in promising fields.

For 123 local galaxies with directly-measured black hole masses ($M_{\rm BH}$), we provide the host spheroid's Sersic index ($\rm n_{sph}$), effective half-light radius ($\rm R_{e,sph}$), and effective surface brightness ($\mu_e$), obtained from careful multi-component decompositions, and we use these to derive the morphology-dependent $M_{\rm BH}$--$\rm n_{sph}$ and $M_{\rm BH}$--$\rm R_{e,sph}$ relations. We additionally present the morphology-dependent $M_{\rm *,sph}$--$\rm n_{sph}$ and $M_{\rm *,sph}$--$\rm R_{e,sph}$ relations. We explored differences due to: early-type galaxies (ETGs) versus late-type galaxies (LTGs); Sersic versus core-Sersic galaxies; barred versus non-barred galaxies; and galaxies with and without a stellar disk. We detect two different $M_{\rm BH}$--$\rm n_{sph}$ relations due to ETGs and LTGs with power-law slopes $3.95\pm0.34$ and $2.85\pm 0.31$. We additionally quantified the correlation between $M_{\rm BH}$ and the spheroid's central concentration index, which varies monotonically with the Sersic index. Furthermore, we observe a single, near-linear $M_{\rm *,sph}$--$\rm R_{e,sph}^{1.08\pm 0.04}$ relation for ETGs and LTGs, which encompasses both classical and alleged pseudobulges. In contrast, ETGs and LTGs define two distinct $M_{\rm BH}$--$\rm R_{e,sph}$ relations with $\Delta_{\rm rms|BH}\sim\rm 0.60~dex$ (cf.\ $\sim$0.51~dex for the $M_{\rm BH}$--$\sigma$ relation and $\sim$0.58~dex for the $M_{\rm BH}$--$M_{\rm *,sph}$ relation), and the ETGs alone define two steeper $M_{\rm BH}$--$\rm R_{e,sph}$ relations, offset by $\sim$1~dex in the $\log M_{\rm BH}$-direction, depending on whether they have a disk or not and explaining their similar offset in the $M_{\rm BH}$--$M_{\rm *,sph}$ diagram. This trend holds using $10 \%$, $50 \%$, or $90 \%$ radii.(Abridged)