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Researchers at Universitat Jaume I de Castellon, Spain, are working on a new type of coating that provides higher corrosion protection for metals due to improved corrosion resistance and adherence [...]

Electrons are normally not supposed to wander very far from metal surfaces. Yet on page 1480 of this issue, Hofer et al.[1] report an interdisciplinary investigation that catches surface electrons [...]

A new, solution-based combinatorial method for synthesis of surfaces exhibiting nanometer-scale variation in mixed-metal composition and architecture is presented. Optimization of the surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) response of a glass slide, upon which the coverage of colloidal Au and the extent of Ag coating were varied, was performed to demonstrate the strategy. Results reveal substantial changes in SERS enhancement factors over small alterations in surface morphology.

A recently designed single-crystal surface calorimeter has been deployed to measure the energy difference between two solid surface structures. The clean Pt{100) surface is reconstructed to a stable phase in which the surface layer of platinum atoms has a quasi-hexagonal structure. By comparison of the heats of adsorption of CO and of [C.sub.2][H.sub.4] on this stable Pt{100}-hex phase with those on a metastable Pt{100}-(1x1) surface, the energy difference between the two clean phases was measured as 20 ± 3 and 25 ± 3 kilojoules per mole of surface platinum atoms., Phase transitions in bulk systems can be readily characterized by their enthalpy change by using calorimetric measurements. Although surface phase transitions are well known, their energetics have been inferred indirectly, [...]

Harvard University (Cambridge, Mass.) physicists demonstrated a new way to customize the color of metal surfaces by exploiting an optical phenomenon. They discovered that even very 'lossy' thin films, if [...]

Aluminum exposed to air possess a natural protective oxide coating, and if further protection is required, several methods can be used. To withstand harsh conditions, the durability of aluminum is increased by generating a thicker oxide film by anodizing. For a thicker film coating, hard anodizing at low temperature is necessary. The aluminum surface can protected by painting the surface and taking the proper pretreatments. An even coating is possible by electroless nickel plating of aluminium. A high-strength aluminum alloy sheet having a zinc-phosphate coating can be used for cars.

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is a powerful technique for chemical investigation of even small amounts of analytes. The method is based on localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) phenomenon occurring during [...]

The vertex sharing triicosahedral Au-Ag supracluster sequence displays the presence of attainable, 'picket-fenced' metal surfaces and flexible cavities on the surface of a large metal group. These can be conditioned to include various temporary molecules. The cavities share flexible connector-like vertices which allow their expansion and contraction. The phosphine ligands are structurally modified by the twisting of separate icosahedral units.

The first member of the 1(m) series of self-assembled monolayers of thiolates, 1(0), was prepared and it was discovered that its monolayer films, linked to Au and Pt electrodes, were unexpectedly stable in CH2Cl2 and THF, and experienced a chemically reversible one-electron oxidation. Dimethoxynaphthalene and a pair of mercaptomethyl groups are linked to a rigid polynorbornyl bridge in 1(m). 1(m) is significant because of its rigidity, and because the two thiol groups facilitate two-point linkage of the molecule to the metal surface.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology engineers announce that they have designed a new surface structure for lithium phosphate electrodes that allows for the rapid transmission of electrical energy through a lithium-ion […]

A process to produce metal surfaces that could lead to superior medical implants that will improve healing and allow the human body to better accept metal prostheses has reportedly been […]

Metallography is a technique of analyzing metal surface microstructure. One of the ways of performing such analysis is optical microscopy. Recently problems of distortions present in a metallographic optical image [...]

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST;www.nist.gov) are said to have shown for the first time that a single layer of molecular 'salve' can significantly soothe the […]

It is likely that rusting occurs more during the night when atmospheric moisture condenses on metal surfaces when the dew point is reached. On average, in the Midwest and middle […]

The adsorption of CO on the Pt{100}, Pt{110} and Pt{111} surfaces was investigated sing cluster model representations of the different surfaces and ab initio calculations. Results showed that the calculated equilibrium structures and vibrational spectra are independent of the cluster model, but the computed interaction energies are very sensitive to it. An analysis of the chemisorption bond using the constrained space orbital variation method revealed that the initial Pauli repulsion is the main contributing factor to the difference in the vibrational frequency of chemisorbed CO.