Layered metal sulfides MoS2 and WS2 exhibit highly anisotropic surface chemistry. Adsorption of molecules is stronger on the atomic layer edges than on atomic planes. The edges are catalytically active in the petroleum hydrodesulfurization, while the layer planes are inert. Dispersing MoS2 and WS2 on the nanometer scale can also lead to the onset of photocatalytic properties due to the bandgap tuning by quantum confinement. In this work, we aim at determining how the adsorption on surface sites is altered for the nanoparticles compared to the bulk sulfides (micron-sized particles). A comparative study of the MoS2 and WS2 nanoparticles and bulk materials is done by attempting the adsorption of small molecules (N2, CO, acetone, and acetonitrile) to probe the surface sites. MoS2 and WS2 nanoparticles were synthesized by thermal decomposition of the metal hexacarbonyls in presence of sulfur in high-boiling solvents. The size range is 5-30 nm from Transmission Electron Microscopy. Transmission Infrared Spectroscopy was used to monitor the spectra of the probe molecules. A dedicated experimental setup has been constructed that consists of a high-vacuum chamber with a base pressure of 5×10-7 Torr. At the lowest achievable temperature of the sample (-145°C), N2, CO, and acetone were found to not adsorb strongly enough to be retained in vacuum on these materials. Acetonitrile was found to adsorb on these materials at -145°C and to desorb between -90°C and -50°C. The nanomaterial samples adsorbed significantly more acetonitrile than the corresponding bulk sulfides, as judged by the infrared signals intensity. Qualitatively, adsorbed acetonitrile species on nanodispersed and bulk sulfides are the same. It is likely that most of the adsorbed acetonitrile observed is physisorbed as ice or adsorbed on the sulfur-terminated terraces. At the final stages of desorprtion, distinctly different adsorbed species are seen whose CN stretching IR bands are shifted to higher frequencies. It is likely that these minority species are at monolayer or submonolayer coverages. The exact nature of the species requires further studies. / Department of Chemistry

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2004. / Supervisor: Michael D. Bryant. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

M. Tech. Metallurgical Engineering. / Studies the tribological and electrochemical behaviour of various WC-Co, WC-Co-Cr and CrC-NiCr based thermal sprayed coatings in synthetic mine water environment. The research aims to achieve the following objectives. 1. Characterize commercially available cermet powders used during thermal spray process. 2. Explore and understand the relationship between feedstock powder parameters, the phases and microstructures generated during thermal spray process. Study the interrelationship of feedstock powder chemistry and method of powder synthesis on wear and corrosion behavior of thermally sprayed coatings. Assess the joint actions of wear and corrosion behaviour of the coatings in synthetic mine water environment.

Thesis (Ph.D.(Chemistry))--University of Pretoria, 2004. / Includes summary. Also available online.

Layered transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are potentially ideal semiconducting materials due to their in-plane carrier transport and tunable bandgaps, which are favorable properties for electrical and optoelectronic applications. However, the ability to make p-n junctions is the foundation of semiconductor devices, and therefore the ability to achieve reproducible p- and n-type doping in TMD semiconducting materials is critical. In this work, p-type substitutional doping of pulsed laser deposited WS2 films with niobium is reported. The synthesis technique of the PLD target with dopant incorporation which also ensures host material stoichiometry is presented. Hall electrical measurements confirmed stable p-type conductivity of the grown films. Structural characterization revealed that there was no segregation phase of niobium in the fabricated films and x-ray phtoelectron spectroscopy (xps) characterization suggest that the p-type doping is due to Nb4+ which results in p-type behavior. Stable hole concentrations as high as 10E21(cm-3) were achieved. The target fabrication and thin film deposition technique reported here can be used for substitutional doping of other 2D materials to obtain stable doping for device applications.