Proton-Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells are an alternative source of electricity generation for automobiles and stationary power plants. With increasing concerns on environmental issues, recent research has focused on maximizing the efficiency and durability as well as minimizing the costs of fuel cells. One of the main areas of research is optimizing the structure of the cathode catalyst layer. The main driving force of this thesis was the effective visualization of nanostructure of the ionomer, which is responsible for proton conduction in the cathode catalyst layer. However, challenges regarding sample preparation and radiation damage still need to be well understood. Different sample preparation techniques of catalyst inks and catalyst coated membranes were used for Scanning and Transmission Electron Microscopy, such as freeze fracturing, ultramicrotomy and Focused Ion Beam. Comparisons of the microstructure and chemical differences of all components, especially the ionomer, prepared by ultramicrotomy and Focused Ion Beam, was done with Transmission Electron Microscopy and Scanning Transmission X-ray Microscopy applied to the same catalyst coated membrane sample. Detailed spectroscopic information regarding components in both specimens was compared with C 1s and F 1s near edge X-ray absorption spectra recorded in a Scanning Transmission X-ray Microscope. Focused Ion Beam causes extensive damage to the carbon support and ionomer but prepares thinner sections than ultramicrotomy. This work makes it possible to understand the limitations of each sample preparation and compositional analysis technique in order to later apply one of them to image the ionomer in the catalyst layer at the nanoscale, hopefully using tomography techniques. / Thesis / Master of Materials Science and Engineering (MMatSE)

Inorganic and metal-organic framework materials possessing accessible and permanent pores are receiving tremendous attention. Among them, zeolites are the most famous class due to their wide applications on petrochemistry and gas separation. Besides zeolites, the other oxide framework materials are also intensively investigated because of their diverse structures and compositions. Metal-organic frameworks are built from metal clusters and organic linkers. By rational designing the reagent, the network with desired topology and functionality can be synthesized. For all of the framework materials mentioned above, to explore novel framework structures is important for improving properties and discovering new applications. This thesis includes the synthesis of zeolites and structure characterization for various types of inorganic framework materials. The zeolite synthesis conditions was exploited. With the optimized condition, the zeolite ITQ-33 was synthesized as single crystals. From the single crystal X-ray diffraction data, the disorder in the structure is discovered and explained. Following the topic of disorder and twinning, we proposed a novel method of solving structure of pseudo-merohedric twinning crystal by using an example of a metal-organic complex crystal. Then we also showed methods for solving structures of high complexity and nano-crystal by using mainly powder X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. Four examples were shown in chapter 4 including open-framework germanates and metal-organic frameworks. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defence the following paper was unpublished and a status as follows: Paper  4: Manuscript</p>

Single-particle reconstruction technique is one of the major approaches to studying ribosome structure and membrane proteins. In this thesis, I report the use of time-resolved cryo-EM technique to study the structure of short-lived ribosome complexes and conventional cryo-EM technique to study the structure of ribosome complexes and membrane proteins. The thesis consists three parts. The first part is the development of time-resolved cryo-EM technique. I document the protocol for how to capture short-lived states of the molecules with time-resolved cryo-EM technique using microfluidic chip. Working closely with Dr. Lin’s lab at Columbia University Engineering Department, I designed and tested a well-controlled and effective microspraying-plunging method to prepare cryo-grids. I demonstrated the performance of this device by a 3-Å reconstruction from about 4000 particles collected on grids sprayed with apoferritin suspension. The second part is the application of time-resolved cryo-EM technique for studying short-lived ribosome complexes in bacteria translation processes on the time-scale of 10-1000 ms. I document three applications on bacterial translation processes. The initiation project is collaborated with Dr. Gonzalez’s lab at Chemistry Department, Columbia University. The termination and recycling projects are collaborated with Dr. Ehrenberg’s lab at Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Uppsala University. I captured and solved short-lived ribosome intermediates complexes in these processes. The results demonstrate the power of time-resolved cryo-EM to determine how a time-ordered series of conformational changes contribute to the mechanism and regulation of one of the most fundamental processes in biology. The last part is the application of conventional cryo-EM technique to study ribosome complexes and membrane proteins. This part includes five collaboration projects. Human GABA(B) receptor project is the collaboration with Dr. Fan at Department of Pharmacology, Columbia University. Cyclic nucleotide-gated (CNG) channels project is the collaboration with Dr. Yang at Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University. The cryo-EM study of Ybit-70S ribosome complex and Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) project are the collaboration with Dr. Hunt at Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University. The cryo-EM study of native lipid bilayer in membrane protein transporter is the collaboration with Dr. Hendrickson at Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University and Dr. Guo at Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Virginia Commonwealth University.

Application of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in various fields demands a thorough investigation of their stability under irradiation. Open structure, ability to reorganize and heal defects, and large surface-to-volume ratio of carbon nanotubes affect materials' radiation response so that it differs from their bulk counterparts. Despite the work conducted to this date, radiation damage and mechanisms governing the evolution of CNTs under irradiation are still deficient in fundamental understanding. This dissertation is aimed to comprehend and characterize radiation response and crystalline-to-amorphous transition in ion and electron irradiated carbon nanotubes using various techniques, including but not limited to, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Raman spectroscopy. It shows that ion irradiation can be used to engineer properties of nanotubes in a controllable manner and significantly improve thermal diffusivity and conductivity of the material. This work also establishes the role of nuclear and electronic stopping powers in thermal diffusivity enhancement: thermal properties of irradiated CNTs are governed by nuclear stopping power of bombarding species. The change of thermal properties with irradiation is driven by two competing mechanisms: inter-tube displacement-mediated phonon transport and defect-induced phonon scattering. In addition to experiments, molecular dynamic simulations are used to confirm validity of the obtained results. Radiation damage in CNTs at various temperatures as a function of ion energy, flux and fluence is examined. Mechanisms governing crystalline-to-amorphous transition under electron and ion irradiations are explored, applicability of previously suggested models discussed, and new models introduced. The results show enhanced defect annealing at elevated irradiation temperatures, which delays the formation of amorphous regions. Investigation of nanotube stability after various processing techniques and irradiation indicated that radiation response of CNTs in a composite is similar to that of individual nanotubes.

No description available.

The stable interfaces between NiO and ZrO2 reached by nanofilms interface rotation method are reported in this study. Epitaxial nanofilms of NiO and ZrO2 were synthesized on single crystal NaCl (001), (011), (111) surfaces. All nanofilms are investigated by transmission electron microscopy and selected-area diffraction (SAD) patterns. Composite nanofilms were formed by overlapping nanofilms of NiO and ZrO2 at difference angles and thermally treated. The rotation process and final stable interfaces in the overlapped nanofilms are analyzed by SAD patterns. Orientation relationships and interface rotation are analyzed. This study found five new interfaces. (1) (001)N/ Z¡A[110]N//[110]Z (2) (001)N/ Z¡A[100]N//[110]Z (3) N/ Z¡A[110]N//[110]Z (4) N/ Z¡A[111]N//[110]Z (5) N/ Z¡A[001]N//[110]Z

The present study aims at clarifying the effects of processing parameters and substrate orientation on the epitaxial growth of Ni on polycrystalline Cu by electrodeposition from a sulfamate solution. The deposits were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), auger electron spectroscopy (AES) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Two morphologies: rough and smooth, of the substrate surface were introduced by electropolishing. Auger electron spectroscopy showed that Ni was deposited on both areas without preference. However, the deposition rate for the rough area was slightly higher at a low current density of 0.01 A/dm2. At higher current densities, both areas possessed the same rate of deposition. In-plane TEM results demonstrated that Ni deposited on Cu epitaxially regardless the orientation of the Cu grains, electrolyte temperature and current density. EBSD analysis indicated that the Ni epilayer with an orientation of <001>//ND grew epitaxially to as thick as 12 £gm, whereas randomly oriented Ni nucleated on the epilayer having orientations of <011>//ND or <-111>//ND on prolonging deposition at current of 10 A/dm2. In other words, the epitaxial growth of Ni on Cu cannot be sustained to a thickness of hundreds of micrometers without a <001>//ND orientation.

Ti thin films were deposited by a radio frequency ion-beam sputtering system. Deposition resulted from sputtering a Ti target (99.995%) with an Ar ion beam. Epitaxial TiO thin films with different orientations, which came from oxidizing Ti thin films, were prepared on single-crystal NaCl substrate. The formation of epitaxial TiO2 thin films (anatase or rutile phase) by oxidation of epitaxial TiO thin films was investigated. The composition, microstructure, and orientation relationships between interfaces were analyzed by TEM and Fourier transformation in the present report. Epitaxial TiO thin films with different orientations were prepared on single-crystal NaCl substrate in the present study. The formation of epitaxial TiO2 thin films (anatase or rutile) by oxidation of epitaxial TiO thin films, which were first grown on different NaCl surfaces, was investigated. The composition, microstructure, and orientation relationships between interfaces were analyzed by TEM and Fourier transformation in this report. The TiO to anatase phase transformation has been studied by transmission electron microscopy in this Article. It is shown that prior formation of TiO from Ti film can induce the formation of anatase by thermal oxidation in air, otherwise only rutile is formed. Ti film deposited on the NaCl (001) surface is induced to form epitaxial TiO film by thermal oxidation in air. Further thermal oxidation in air partially transformed TiO into anatase (A) with a parallel orientation relationship of {200}A // {200}TiO. Detailed analysis of the lattice fringes image of the specimen reveals the presence of very high density of misfit dislocations. The TiO to anatase transformation is reversible as further annealing in a vacuum can turn the anatase back into TiO and eliminates the misfit dislocations. The transformation is analyzed in terms of the crystal structure, orientation relationship, and the dislocation distribution, which show that the TiO to anatase transformation is due to the close similarity between their structures. (Chapter 1) The anatase TiO2 (001) surface was shown to have superior photoreactivity. Epitaxial anatase (001) films used to be grown on single-crystal SrTiO3 and LaAlO3 substrates. It is shown in this report that these films can be grown also on the NaCl substrate, which is much cheaper and easily prepared. Epitaxial TiO (001) films were first grown on the NaCl (001) substrate. By testing the TiO-to-anatase transformation over temperature and time ranges, an epitaxial anatase (001) film was prepared by simple thermal oxidation in air. The formation of a single-variant anatase (001) film instead of a multiple-variant film is discussed in this report. (Chapter 2) An epitaxial rutile (100) thin film has been grown on NaCl substrate instead of other more expensive substrates. An epitaxial TiO (111) thin film with minor Ti phase was first deposited on the NaCl (111) surface by thermal evaporation. It was then transformed into the epitaxial rutile (100) thin film by subsequent thermal oxidation in air. TEM was used to analyze the phases and the orientation relationship. Our previous result showed that an epitaxial anatase (001) film was formed on the NaCl (001) surface in a similar process. The substrate-dependent formation of different TiO2 phase is also discussed in terms of the mismatch of the interfaces. (Chapter 3)

This experiment use NaCl (001) single crystal as substrate, and the target is zinc oxide, to generate a-plane (112 ¡Â0) zinc oxide nanothim. The nanofilm is used as a buffer layer generating by Ion Beam Sputtering, and then increasing the thickness by Plasma sputtering. Part of specimens to proceed atmospheric heat treatment with different temperature and time, and part of specimens to change the ratio of the gas when the thin film is growth, then use of Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Photoluminescence (PL) as the analysis of film properties. The results of experiment, show that (112 ¡Â0) plane have more stringent conditions when generate of thin film, and easy to become the ring of electron diffraction with no-epitaxy .But finally we get a data what can generate a well a-plane ZnO thin film, the substrate temperature of 400 ¢X C, the sputtering time of 1 hour, Ar/O2 = 1.5. From the results of Photoluminescence, we find that there are zinc vacancies in ZnO thin film, probably there are too many oxygen atoms. While the heat treatment in nitrogen, zinc vacancies are reduced rapidly. Indicating that oxygen atoms within the film are reduced by nitrogen atoms or replace the position of the oxygen atoms.

Apatite is one of the accessory minerals in the UHP metamorphosed eclogites at Northern Dulan belt, North Qaidam. It appears in three kinds of occurrences: (1) included in garnet which often shows cracks along the apatite grains, (2) coexisting with omphacite, rutile and/or clinozoisite in matrix and often surrounded by garnet, and (3) coexisting with retrograded minerals. The three eclogite samples examined in the present study are enriched in garnet. Two of them contain up to 80 vol.% garnet and the other is a porphyry of medium-grained garnet. They commonly show cracks and features of retrograde metamorphism, such as fissure-filling of secondary minerals including calcite or greenschist facies minerals. There are two size-ranges of well-oriented sulfide minerals included in apatite. One is nanometer-sized sulfide needles (50 ¡Ñ 20 ~ 870 ¡Ñ 120 nm) and particles (55 ~ 370 nm). The other is micrometer-sized sulfide needles (~20 ¡Ñ 0.5 £gm) and rods (~2.5 ¡Ñ 0.5£gm). Fluid inclusions and the micrometer-sized sulfide minerals commonly occur in the apatite grains that are near the cracks. Both nanometer- and micrometer-sized sulfide minerals are elongated with their long axes being normal or parallel to the c axis of the apatite. We used SEM-EDS and TEM-EDS to analyze and found that the sulfide minerals are troilite, pyrrhotite, Cu-bearing pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite. There are two sets of preferred crystallographic orientations for the dominated troilite and host apatite. The rod troilite is elongated along its a axis and <001>troilite // <001>apatite, <48-3>troilite ∡ <13-3>apatite = ~ 0.6º, (2-10)troilite // (3-10)apatite, <100>troilite ∡ <100>apatite = ~ 10º. The needle troilite is also elongated along its a axis and <001>troilite ¡æ <001>apatite, <-110>troilite ∡ <-12-2>apatite = ~ 1.3º, (11-2)troilite // (0-1-1)apatite. The preferred crystallographic orientation relationships, in terms of the c axis of troilite being parallel or normal to the c axis of host apatite, are similar to those for oriented quartz precipitates and omphacite hosts in the previous studies. According to the observations that only few sulfide minerals included in other minerals, the occurrences of apatites, and the microtextures of sulfide minerals, we suggest that the origin of sulfide minerals may relate to metasomatism during plate subduction. Metal ions such as iron, copper, cobalt and nickel were carried by chlorine- and sulfur-enriched fluids, which might be trapped as primary fluid inclusions in the apatite. The sulfide minerals then formed at the sites of fluid inclusions with the aid of fluids and available ions.