In this thesis, we fabricate the quantum dots (QDs) micro-pillar of metal-coated by E-beam lithography, and analyze the optical and electrical properties of micro-pillar cavity devices. For the sample materials, we use S-K mode to grow 3-layer In0.75Ga0.25As QDs structures sandwiched by up and down Al0.5Ga0.5As cladding layer on GaAs substrate by molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE). 40nm GaAs spacer layers with 2nm p-modulation doping in the central barrier are adopted in this study. The micro-pillar with diameter of 2 m, metal coated on top (p-type) and down (n-type) facet are designed. The good reflectivities of metal contacts provide more energy extraction inside the cavity. We expect the device lasing while the current injection. First, we design the morphology and size of patterns by AutoCAD software. Then, we use e-beam lithography with proper exposure condition to define the patterns, and thermal evaporation to deposit metals. The superfluous metal is lifted off and the defined area metal is served as dry etching mask to transfer the pattern to the dielectric layer and epi-layer. Finally, we use SiO2 layer to prevent current leakage, and the p-n contact on each facet to complete the devices. Micro-pillar samples with/without metal coated are analyzed by micro-PL system. The emission wavelength of 1282nm and the calculated Q-value of 100 are obtained for the sample with metal coated, an increase of 500%. From the EL measurement results, the device of micro-pillar samples with metal coated generate three peaks, 1149nm, 1221nm and 1291nm. Besides, it can efficiently improve the emission intensities. The measured result matched the simulation result.

<p>In recent years, surface engineering techniques have been developed in order to improve the tribological performance in many industrial applications. In sheet metal forming processes, the usage of liquid lubricants can be decreased by using self lubricated tribo surfaces which will result in more environmentally friendly workshops. In the present work two different concepts, i.e. the deposition of thin organic coatings on the steel sheet and PVD coatings on the tool, have been evaluated. The sheet materials investigated include Zn and 55%Al-Zn metal coated steel sheet, which in general are difficult materials to form under dry conditions since they are sticky and thus have a high tendency to adhere to the tool surface. The PVD coatings include CrN, TiN and various DLC coatings. The work comprises tribo testing and post test characterisation using surface analytical techniques in order to evaluate the tribological properties of the tribo surfaces. The tribological tests of different tribo couples were conducted by using modified scratch testing and ball-on-disc testing. From these test results different friction and wear mechanisms have been identified. </p><p>The deposition of thin organic coatings on the steel sheet metal has been found to be promising in order to control the friction and to avoid metal-metal contact resulting in galling. However, it has been found that the tribological characteristics of organic coated steel sheet are strongly influenced by coating chemical composition, the substrate surface topography and the coating thickness distribution. </p><p>The performance of the PVD coatings depends mainly on the chemical composition and topography of the coated surface. By choosing PVD coatings such as diamond like carbon (DLC) low and stable friction coefficients can be obtained in sliding contact against Zn. Surface irregularities such as droplet-like asperities may cause an initial high friction coefficient. However, after a running in process or by polishing the PVD coating low friction coefficients can be obtained resulting in a stable sliding contact. </p><p>The combination of imaging (optical profilometry, LOM, SEM) and chemical analytical techniques (EDS, AES, ToF-SIMS) gave valuable information concerning the friction and wear properties of the tribo surfaces investigated.</p>

In recent years, surface engineering techniques have been developed in order to improve the tribological performance in many industrial applications. In sheet metal forming processes, the usage of liquid lubricants can be decreased by using self lubricated tribo surfaces which will result in more environmentally friendly workshops. In the present work two different concepts, i.e. the deposition of thin organic coatings on the steel sheet and PVD coatings on the tool, have been evaluated. The sheet materials investigated include Zn and 55%Al-Zn metal coated steel sheet, which in general are difficult materials to form under dry conditions since they are sticky and thus have a high tendency to adhere to the tool surface. The PVD coatings include CrN, TiN and various DLC coatings. The work comprises tribo testing and post test characterisation using surface analytical techniques in order to evaluate the tribological properties of the tribo surfaces. The tribological tests of different tribo couples were conducted by using modified scratch testing and ball-on-disc testing. From these test results different friction and wear mechanisms have been identified. The deposition of thin organic coatings on the steel sheet metal has been found to be promising in order to control the friction and to avoid metal-metal contact resulting in galling. However, it has been found that the tribological characteristics of organic coated steel sheet are strongly influenced by coating chemical composition, the substrate surface topography and the coating thickness distribution. The performance of the PVD coatings depends mainly on the chemical composition and topography of the coated surface. By choosing PVD coatings such as diamond like carbon (DLC) low and stable friction coefficients can be obtained in sliding contact against Zn. Surface irregularities such as droplet-like asperities may cause an initial high friction coefficient. However, after a running in process or by polishing the PVD coating low friction coefficients can be obtained resulting in a stable sliding contact. The combination of imaging (optical profilometry, LOM, SEM) and chemical analytical techniques (EDS, AES, ToF-SIMS) gave valuable information concerning the friction and wear properties of the tribo surfaces investigated.

This thesis entitled “Electronic Structure and Bonding in Metallaboranes and Main Group Compounds” consists of five chapters. Chapter 1 gives an exposition of concepts and techniques used in understanding the electronic structure and bonding in some chemically interesting molecules. Heuristics concepts like isolobal analogy and electron counting rules are used in analyzing and predicting some novel chemical systems. A brief description of computational techniques such as density functional theory (DFT) based methods are used to quantitatively examine the structures and energies of these systems. In chapter 2 we present a critical analysis of bonding in neutral and dianionic stannadiphospholes and compare the potential energy surfaces with the isoelectronic Cp+ and Cp- species. The analysis indicates that Sn can be a better isolobal analogue to P+ than to BH or CH+. In chapter 3 we present new strategy to stabilize B2H4 in planar configuration using transition metal fragments. This requires the metal to donate two electrons into the empty B-B π orbital. Such complexes present a unique case study to the classical DCD model of metal-π complex. In chapter 4 we study the bonding in some recently synthesized metallaboranes which does not follow conventional electron counting rules. The complex and non-canonical nature of these metallaboranes feature some unique bonding patterns which are elucidated using theoretical techniques. In the final chapter we present new approach to build metal coated boron fullerenes. We use electron counting rules to device new structures which show enhanced metal boron bonding.

Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-10T18:08:20Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Andreine Aline Roos.pdf: 2960540 bytes, checksum: 99bd1c80529add7a7c94dc586e17b240 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-02-22 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Environmental contamination is a serious problem in today's society and for years aroused the interest of researchers. The pollutants with pharmacological activity are worrying the scientific community by increasing detection of these aquatic environments at concentrations ranging from µ L-1 to ng L-1, which are resistant to conventional treatments used in sewage treatment plants. Thus, it becomes necessary to investigate more effective treatments to minimize environmental contamination. The Advanced Oxidation Processes have attracted interest as promising treatments for removal of organic pollutants, among which stands out the heterogeneous photocatalysis whose the main drawback is the difficulty of separating the catalyst from solution degraded. To try to solve the problem, this work proposes the use of cellulose acetate/TiO2 composite and zinc metal plate coated with ZnO as catalysts for photodegradation of sulfamethoxazole. The composite was prepared by phase inversion of a solution of cellulose acetate and titanium tert-butyl orthotitanate that resulted in a composite with around 4% (in mass %) if TiO2.This composite proved not to be efficient in the degradation of sulfametoxazol in the presence of hydrogen peroxide under both, sunlight or artificial radiation. For this reason the continuity of the work occurred only with zinc plate coated with ZnO obtained by hydrothermal method. The 22 factorial experimental design, with triplicate on central point showed that the model was valid, and that the process was favored with increasing amounts of H2O2 at acidic pH. The equilibrium time for the photodegradation of sulfametoxazol using a plate Zn/ZnO was 120 minutes with removal of 95%, under artificial radiation, obeying the rate law of peudo-first order. The COD and nitrate concentration indicated that there was a small mineralization of the pollutant, despite the high removal, showing that there was probably the formation of intermediate species. Furthermore, the Zn/ZnO showed a catalytic efficiency almost unchanged up to 10 repetitions of photodegradation. However, at the end of the process the zinc concentration in the sample was above the allowed degraded by environmental agencies, necessitating the use of a post-treatment for removal of zinc or use of sulfametoxazol solution with pH closer to neutrality to avoid dissolution of the metal catalyst. / A contaminação ambiental é um grave problema da sociedade atual e há anos desperta o interesse dos pesquisadores. Os poluentes com atividade farmacológica vêm preocupando a comunidade científica pela crescente detecção dos mesmos em ambientes aquáticos, em concentrações que variam de µg L-1 a ng L-1, os quais são resistentes aos tratamentos convencionais empregados nas estações de tratamento de esgoto. Dessa forma, torna-se necessário a investigação de tratamentos mais eficientes para minimizar a contaminação ambiental. Os Processos Oxidativos Avançados vêm despertando interesse como tratamentos promissores para remoção de poluentes orgânicos, dentre os quais destaca-se a fotocatálise heterogênea, cujo principal empecilho é a dificuldade de separação do catalisador da solução degradada. Para tentar solucionar o problema, o trabalho propõe a utilização de catalisadores diferenciados como, compósito acetato de celulose/TiO2 e uma placa de zinco metálico recoberto com ZnO para a fotodegradação do princípio ativo sulfametoxazol. Contudo, o compósito acetato de celulose/ TiO2 não apresentou a eficiência similar ao TiO2 como era esperado, e assim optou-se por prosseguir os estudos de fotocatálise heterogênea utilizando a placa de zinco recoberta com ZnO como catalisador. O planejamento experimental fatorial, 22 com triplicata no ponto central, mostrou que o modelo utilizado foi válido, e que o processo é favorecido com quantidades maiores de H2O2 em pH ácido. O tempo de equilíbrio para a fotodegradação do sulfametoxazol utilizando a placa de Zn recoberta com ZnO foi de 120 minutos com remoções de 95%, sob radiação artificial, seguindo uma lei de velocidade de pseudo-primeira ordem. A determinação de DQO e da concentração de nitrato indicaram que houve uma pequena mineralização do poluente, apesar da elevada remoção, mostrando que provavelmente houve a formação de espécies intermediárias. Além disso, a placa de zinco recoberta com ZnO apresentou uma eficiência catalítica praticamente inalterada em até 10 repetições de fotodegradação. No entanto, ao final do processo a concentração de zinco na amostra degradada estava acima da permitida pelos órgãos ambientais, sendo necessário a utilização de um pós-tratamento para a remoção do zinco ou a utilização de solução de sulfametoxazol com pH mais próximo da neutralidade para evitar a dissolução do metal do catalisador.

In this thesis work, a systematic quantitative study has been undertaken, on the performance of etched fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) sensors in the investigation of surface molecular adsorption in real-time; it is shown that the limit of detection (LOD) of FBGs etched below 2 microns diameter, is better compared to prominent optical label-free molecular sensing techniques such as Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR). Novel fiber optic sensors based on FBG and etched FBG with various nano materials (polyelectrolytes, carbon nanotubes, hydrogel, metals and chalcogenides) coated on the surface of the core or cladding, have been proposed for sensing multi parameters such as pH, protein, humidity, gas, strain, temperature, and light etc. Besides being reproducible and repeatable, the proposed methods are fast, compact, and highly sensitive. A novel optical instrument has also been developed to measure angular deviation, binocular deviation and refractive index of glass slabs, and liquids, based on a shadow casting technique. This method uses the deviation in the geometrical shadow cast by a periodic dot pattern trans-illuminated by a distorted light beam from the transparent test specimen relative to a reference pattern.