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Butyl mastic is used in a number of industrial areas and in particular in the production of adhesives. The performance of this material can be improved by using ionizing radiation. In this work we showed that the shear forces in butyl mastic were modified when the material was exposed to radiation, and as a consequence the adhesion strength was increased. This was done by comparing the shear forces of butyl mastic before and after the exposure to ionizing radiation. The result was an increase of 440% of the average shear strength between the sealant and the substrate after the irradiation. This work can be considered as an important contribution to the field of butyl mastic, sealants and adhesives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In the present work we report the characterization of PbO-GeO2 films containing silver nanoparticles (NPs). Radio Frequency (RF) co-sputtering was used for deposition of amorphous films on glass substrates. Targets of 60PbO-40GeO2 (in wt%) and bulk silver with purity of 99.99% were RF-sputtered using 3.5mTorr of argon. The concentration of silver and gold NPs in the films was controlled varying the RF-power applied to the targets (40–50W for the PbO-GeO2 target; 6–8W for the metallic target). The films obtained were annealed in air at different temperatures and various periods of time. Absorption measurements have shown strong NPs surface plasmon bands. Different widths and peak wavelengths were observed, indicating that size, shape and distribution of the silver NPs are dependent on the deposition process parameters and on the annealing of the samples. X-Ray Fluorescence and Transmission Electron Microscopy were also used to characterize the samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]