Linkage Structures Research Articles

A Conceptual Design of Deployable Antenna Mechanisms

Over the last decade, large-scale antennas have been developed to enhance precise blue force tracking and improve situational awareness. In general, such large-scale antennas, ranging from 1 to up to 10 m, need a specific mechanism that can reconfigure their shapes and morphologies, resulting in stowing and deploying upon the given environment. In parallel, it must be noted that such deployable mechanisms should accommodate a large aperture diameter while ensuring they are lightweight, robust, and structurally rigid to avoid undesired deformations due to the deployment. With these in mind, this work presents a large frustum-shaped deployable antenna mechanism with a large aperture diameter of 7.5 m. The deployable mechanism is composed of hierarchical bayes the radial direction at 30° intervals. Twelve bayes in total identify the overall morphology of the deployable antenna, which features a dodecagon. Specifically, the bay is composed of three linkage structures: a six-bar linkage mechanism, a V-folding mechanism, and a single pantograph mechanism. As a result of static and dynamic simulations, it is identified that the mechanism achieves an area-to-mass ratio of 5.003 m2/kg and a safety factor of 323.8 upon deployment. Conclusively, this work demonstrates a strong potential of the deployable antenna mechanism, providing high rigidity and large aperture diameter while ensuring high stability in space environments.

3D auxetic linkage based on Kirigami

The structural design of 3D auxetic linkages is a burgeoning field in digital manufacturing. This article presents a novel algorithm for designing 3D auxetic linkage structures based on Kirigami principles to address existing limitations. The 3D input model is initially mapped to a 2D space using conformal mapping based on the BFF method. This is followed by 2D re-meshing using an equilateral triangle mesh. Subsequently, a 3D topological mesh of the auxetic linkage is calculated through inverse mapping based on directed area. We then introduce new basic rotating and non-rotating units, employing them as the initial structure of the 3D auxetic linkage in accordance with Kirigami techniques. Lastly, a deformation energy function is defined to optimize the shape of the rotating units. The vertex coordinates of the non-rotating units are updated according to the optimized positions of the rotating units, thereby generating an optimal 3D auxetic linkage structure. Experimental results validate the effectiveness and accuracy of our algorithm. Quantitative analyses of structural porosity and optimization accuracy, as well as comparisons with related works, indicate that our algorithm yields structures with smaller shape errors.

H2 production from coal by enriching sugar fermentation and alkane oxidation with hyperthermophilic resistance microbes in municipal wastewater

Anaerobic hydrogen production from coal provides an alternative to achieve clean energy and zero greenhouse gas emissions. However, the recalcitrant structure of coal is the barrier for microorganisms to access, leading to inefficient hydrogen production. Municipal wastewater contains rich microbial resources with high degradability and a broad tolerance range to temperature, which was herein used to drive hydrogen production from coal at 35, 55 and 65 °C. The result showed the total hydrogen production (1.02 mL/g TS) at 65 °C was 34.0 and 51.0 times the 35 °C and 55 °C, respectively. For 65 °C, the decomposability of C-H linkage and aromatic ring structures in coal was the best; sugar fermentation and alkane oxidation pathways were effectively enriched, leading to the highest concentration of volatile fatty acids and alkanes. Which resulted in a shift of dominant bacteria from the lactate- and hydrogen-producing bacterium Bacillus at 35 °C and 55 °C to the hydrogen-producing bacterium Thermoanaerobacterium at 65 °C. Moreover, a gradient temperature cultivation from 35 to 65 °C (gradient increase temperature, GIT) based on the domestication concept was conducted. It is surprising that the GIT group displayed significantly lower hydrogen production (0.14 mL/g TS) compared to 65 °C group, because bacteria can adapt from mesophilic to hyperthermophilic temperatures, including Bacillus, Fonticella, Lysinibacillus, Ureibacillus, Microbacterium, and Geobacillus, inhibiting the Thermoanaerobacterium in the GIT group by producing lactic acid and competing for living space. This study proposes an alternative for efficient hydrogen production from coal. In the future, hydrogen production can be further enhanced through both substrate pretreatment and inoculum domestication, the related core mechanism will also be focus on.

Unveiling the Dissolution Regularities of the Lignin-Carbohydrate Complex in Bamboo Cell Walls during Alkali Pretreatment.

Bamboo is a promising biomass resource. However, the complex multilayered structure and chemical composition of bamboo cell walls create a unique anti-depolymerization barrier, which increases the difficulty of separation and utilization of bamboo. In this study, the relationship between the connections of lignin-carbohydrate complexes (LCCs) within bamboo cell walls and their multilayered structural compositions was investigated. The chemical composition, structural properties, dissolution processes, and migration mechanisms of LCCs were analyzed. Alkali-stabilized LCC bonds were found to be predominantly characterized by phenyl glycoside (PhGlc) bonds along with numerous p-coumaric acid (PCA) linkage structures. As demonstrated by the NMR and CLSM results, the dissolution of the LCC during the alkaline pretreatment process was observed to migrate from the inner secondary wall (S-layer) of the bamboo fiber cell walls to the cell corner middle lamella (CCML) and compound middle lamella (CML), ultimately leading to its release from the bamboo. Furthermore, the presence of H-type lignin-FA-arabinoxylan linkage structures within the bamboo LCC was identified with their primary dissolution observed in the S-layer of the bamboo fiber cell walls. The study results provided a clear target for breaking down the anti-depolymerization barrier in bamboo, signifying a major advancement in achieving the comprehensive separation of bamboo components.

Enhancing osteoblast proliferation and bone regeneration by poly (amino acid)/selenium-doped hydroxyapatite

Among various biomaterials employed for bone repair, composites with good biocompatibility and osteogenic ability had received increasing attention from biomedical applications. In this study, we doped selenium (Se) into hydroxyapatite (Se-HA) by the precipitation method, and prepared different amounts of Se-HA-loaded poly (amino acid)/Se-HA (PAA/Se-HA) composites (0, 10 wt%, 20 wt%, 30 wt%) by in-situ melting polycondensation. The physical and chemical properties of PAA/Se-HA composites were characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and their mechanical properties. XRD and FT-IR results showed that PAA/Se-HA composites contained characteristic peaks of PAA and Se-HA with amide linkage and HA structures. DSC and TGA results specified the PAA/Se-HA30 composite crystallization, melting, and maximum weight loss temperatures at 203.33 °C, 162.54 °C, and 468.92 °C, respectively, which implied good thermal stability. SEM results showed that Se-HA was uniformly dispersed in PAA. The mechanical properties of PAA/Se-HA30 composites included bending, compressive, and yield strengths at 83.07 ± 0.57, 106.56 ± 0.46, and 99.17 ± 1.11 MPa, respectively. The cellular responses of PAA/Se-HA composites in vitro were studied using bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) by cell counting kit-8 assay, and results showed that PAA/Se-HA30 composites significantly promoted the proliferation of BMSCs at the concentration of 2 mg ml−1. The alkaline phosphatase activity (ALP) and alizarin red staining results showed that the introduction of Se-HA into PAA enhanced ALP activity and formation of calcium nodule. Western blotting and Real-time polymerase chain reaction results showed that the introduction of Se-HA into PAA could promoted the expression of osteogenic-related proteins and mRNA (integrin-binding sialoprotein, osteopontin, runt-related transcription factor 2 and Osterix) in BMSCs. A muscle defect at the back and a bone defect at the femoral condyle of New Zealand white rabbits were introduced for evaluating the enhancement of bone regeneration of PAA and PAA/Se-HA30 composites. The implantation of muscle tissue revealed good biocompatibility of PAA and PAA/Se-HA30 composites. The implantation of bone defect showed that PAA/Se-HA30 composites enhanced bone formation at the defect site (8 weeks), exhibiting good bone conductivity. Therefore, the PAA-based composite was a promising candidate material for bone tissue regeneration.

Kinematics Approach and Experimental Verification of a Class of Deployable and Reconfigurable Linkage Structures

Kinematics Approach and Experimental Verification of a Class of Deployable and Reconfigurable Linkage Structures

High-throughput N-glycoproteomics with fast liquid chromatographic separation

N-glycosylation is a common protein post translation modification, which has tremendous structure diversity and wide yet delicate regulation of protein structures and functions. Mass spectrometry-based N-glycoproteomics has become a state-of-the-art pipeline for both qualitative and quantitative characterization of N-glycosylation at the intact N-glycopeptide level, providing comprehensive information of peptide backbones, N-glycosites, monosaccharide compositions, sequence and linkage structures. For high-throughput analysis of large-cohort clinic samples, fast and high-performance separation is indispensable. Here we report our development of 1-h liquid chromatography gradient N-glycoproteomics method and accordingly optimized MS parameters. In the benchmark analysis of cancer and paracancerous tissue of hepatocellular carcinoma, 5,218 intact N-glycopeptides were identified, where 422 site- and structure-specific differential N-glycosylation on 145 N-glycoproteins was observed. The method, representing substantial increase of throughput, can be adopted for fast and efficient analysis of N-glycoproteomes at large scale.

C-Shells: Deployable Gridshells with Curved Beams

We introduce a computational pipeline for simulating and designing C-shells , a new class of planar-to-spatial deployable linkage structures. A C-shell is composed of curved flexible beams connected at rotational joints that can be assembled in a stress-free planar configuration. When actuated, the elastic beams deform and the assembly deploys towards the target 3D shape. We propose two alternative computational design approaches for C-shells: (i) Forward exploration simulates the deployed shape from a planar beam layout provided by the user. Once a satisfactory overall shape is found, a subsequent design optimization adapts the beam geometry to reduce the elastic energy of the linkage while preserving the target shape. (ii) Inverse design is facilitated by a new geometric flattening method that takes a design surface as input and computes an initial layout of piecewise straight linkage beams. Our design optimization algorithm then calculates the smooth curved beams to best reproduce the target shape at minimal elastic energy. We find that C-shells offer a rich space for design and show several studies that highlight new shape topologies that cannot be achieved with existing deployable linkage structures.

The use of phase change material as an actuator in linkage fabric structures

Linkage fabric structures show potential as assistive technology that can provide support and assistance for individuals with specific mobility and disability needs. The core functionality of these fabrics is the ability to passively and actively control the mechanics of each link producing a structure with variable and adjustable stiffness. Current actuators have shown limited ability to produce active stiffening within a fabric structure without the addition of a continuous energy supply to the structure, therefore, limiting its use as wearable assistive technology. Here, we address the energy supply problem and show the novel use of sodium acetate trihydrate (SAT) in the linkage structures to induce mechanical stiffening through a phase change induced by an electric impulse. We find that a SAT aqueous concentration of 55 wt% is optimum to achieve a stable supercooled liquid (to ambient temperature) and effective electrical nucleation from liquid to solid, which provides robust locking mechanism of individual linkages able to withstand mechanical torsion up to 200 mNm. We demonstrate proof of principle through the integration of SAT into one- and two-dimensional linkage structures and their nearly instantaneous stiffening within each link by enabling electrically controlled actuation.

Industrial Linkages and Digital Synergy: The Input-Output Analysis of Chinese Cultural Industries

This article probes the industrial linkages and corresponding structures of Chinese cultural industries from the perspective of demand and supply by combining input-output analysis with social network analysis. It finds that the significant economic contribution of Chinese cultural industries lies in creating productive demand for other sectors. Benefitting from industrial standardization, cultural manufacturing industries possess intensive demand and supply linkages and directly participate in national economic activities. The demand and supply linkages of cultural-content industries present internal complexity and are generally deficient in reflexivity. Digital cultural industries, spanning structural holes, show synergistic structures in the demand and supply linkages. These findings offset the paucity of industrial linkage analysis in extant research on cultural industries while unveiling the linkage structures of cultural industries, providing evidence for policymakers and practitioners to effectively guide the development of cultural industries.

A Bayesian record linkage model incorporating relational data

AbstractIn this article, we introduce a novel Bayesian approach for linking multiple social networks in order to discover the same real world person having different accounts across networks. In particular, we develop a latent model that allows us to jointly characterize the network and linkage structures relying on both relational and profile data. In contrast to other existing approaches in the machine learning literature, our Bayesian implementation naturally provides uncertainty quantification via posterior probabilities for the linkage structure itself or any function of it. Our findings clearly suggest that our methodology can produce accurate point estimates of the linkage structure even in the absence of profile information, and also, in an identity resolution setting, our results confirm that including relational data into the matching process improves the linkage accuracy. We illustrate our methodology using real data from popular social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

PIK3R3 is a candidate regulator of platelet count in people of Bangladeshi ancestry

BackgroundBlood platelets are mediators of atherothrombotic disease and are regulated by complex sets of genes. Association studies in European ancestry populations have already detected informative platelet regulatory loci. Studies in other ancestries can potentially reveal new associations because of different allele frequencies, linkage structures, and variant effects. ObjectivesTo reveal new regulatory genes for platelet count (PLT). MethodsGenome-wide association studies (GWAS) were performed in 20,218 Bangladeshi and 9198 Pakistani individuals from the Genes & Health study. Loci significantly associated with PLT underwent fine-mapping to identify candidate genes. ResultsOf 1588 significantly associated variants (P < 5 × 10−8) at 20 loci in the Bangladeshi analysis, most replicated findings in prior transancestry GWAS and in the Pakistani analysis. However, the Bangladeshi locus defined by rs946528 (chr1:46019890) did not associate with PLT in the Pakistani analysis but was in the same linkage disequilibrium block (r2 ≥ 0.5) as PLT-associated variants in prior East Asian GWAS. The single independent association signal was refined to a 95% credible set of 343 variants spanning 8 coding genes. Functional annotation, mapping to megakaryocyte regulatory regions, and colocalization with blood expression quantitative trait loci identified the likely mediator of the PLT phenotype to be PIK3R3 encoding a regulator of phosphoinositol 3-kinase (PI3K). ConclusionAbnormal PI3K activity in the vessel wall is already implicated in the pathogenesis of atherothrombosis. Our identification of a new association between PIK3R3 and PLT provides further mechanistic insights into the contribution of the PI3K pathway to platelet biology.

Designing and Analyzing Multistable Mechanisms Using Quadrilateral Boundary Rigid Origami

Abstract Multistable origami and its snapping behaviors between the folded states have attracted scientists’ and engineers’ attention as the building block for the design of mechanical devices and metamaterials. We propose a novel method for designing origami-based multistable structures, by which we mean (1) to obtain the prescribed overall motion and (2) to control the stiffness of snapping provided by the elastic strain. We solve this design problem by first representing the desired motion with linkage structures with quadrilateral holes, called the frames, and then filling the frames with origami modules, called quadrilateral boundary modules. By introducing an intentional incompatibility between the motions of the frames and the modules, we design the snapping behavior that follows the linkage motion. We provide the representation model to evaluate the incompatibility and propose an optimization-based framework for the design. We also validate our design applied to a Sarrus linkage through bar-and-hinge analysis and experiments using physical prototypes.

The Impact of Industrial Linkage Structures on Urban Economic Resilience in China in the Context of the COVID-19 Shock

The structures of industrial linkages form an essential basis for the economy and have an important impact on urban economic resilience. By analyzing the impact of COVID-19 on China’s urban economy in 2020, this study uses China’s national input–output table to measure the centrality and diversity of industrial linkage structures. Extracted data from 298 cities in China are used to explore the impact of centrality and diversity on urban economic resilience. The results show that the cities in East China, Central China, and the Chengdu–Chongqing area in western China have a high centrality with respect to industrial linkage structures. Cities in the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, the middle reaches of the Yangtze River city cluster, and the Chengdu–Chongqing city cluster have a high diversity of industrial linkages structures. During the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic, most cities in China have shown high economic resilience. For cities across the country, diversity shows a significant and positive correlation with economic resilience, and centrality shows a significant and positive correlation with economic resilience. The latter displays an inverted U-shaped relationship between centrality and economic resilience. For cities with different population sizes, there are differences in the impacts of centrality and diversity on urban economic resilience. Different industrial policies can be developed to adjust the centrality and diversity of the cities to enhance urban economic resilience.

Pore-Microfracture Structure Alteration of Coal Induced by High-Pressure CO2 Gas Fracturing

High-pressure CO2 gas fracturing (CO2-Frac) is a novel technology to stimulate coal for improving coal-seam permeability and increase gas extraction efficiency. However, the multiscale pore-microfracture evolution characteristics induced by CO2-Frac and its damage mechanism are still in their nascency. Herein, a high-pressure CO2-Frac system of 120–150 MPa was newly developed and carried out on anthracite coal to reveal the damage mechanism. The results of mercury intrusion porosimetry and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) tests on coal before and after the impact showed that the micropores (<10 nm) and transition pores (10–100 nm) were significantly reduced after CO2-Frac; the volume and specific surface area of seepage pores (large pores, 1000–10,000 nm) increased significantly. The FESEM images show four damage structures including (1) damage marks, (2) tri-wing fractures, (3) pore-microfracture linkage structures, and (4) zigzag fractures. Based on these new findings, a two-stage damage mechanism was proposed as a high-pressure CO2 damage mechanism and a low-pressure quasi-static CO2 damage mechanism.

Significance of microstrain in impacting band gap and photoluminescence behavior of Ce-doped ZnO thin films deposited via sol-gel process

The purpose of this study is to analyse the importance of micro-strain in affecting the band gap and photoluminescence (PL) intensity of sol-gel-spin-coated Ce-doped ZnO thin films on glass slides. The presence of the (100) plane in the fabricated thin film was discovered using x-ray diffraction thereby indicating the presence of strongly orientated monocrystalline ZnO hexagonal wurtzite phase. On doping with Ce, the micro-strain in the ZnO thin films changed from (2.49–4.84) × 10–3, and the crystallite size ranged from 26.23 to 43.03 nm. UV-visible spectroscopy revealed that the optical transparency of the undoped and Ce-doped ZnO films was between 60 to 85 percent, however the doped films’ absorption dip was slightly shifted from 378 to 380 nm. For Ce-doped ZnO thin films, the increase in band gap values determined using Tauc’s plot was in the range of 3.19 to 3.44 eV. No change in the peak of UV emission was visible in the PL emission spectra after Ce doping. The micro-strain brought on by doping ZnO with Ce controlled the decrease in PL intensity. On doping with Ce up to 3 at.%, PL intensity and micro-strain both reduced, then climbed till Ce 5 at.%, and ultimately declined when the Ce content was 6 at.%. According to studies using scanning electron microscopy, the undoped ZnO film morphology was characterised by spherical particles with rod-like growth structures. For 1, 2, 5, and 6 at.% Ce-doped ZnO thin films, this structure was changed to a nanorod-like structure with small nanorods attached to a long rod. But lengthy chain linkage structures were found in the event of 3 at.% Ce doping. The preceding results are discussed from a doping perspective.

Multidimensional Analysis of Knowledge-Linking within the Concept of Energy in Student Essays

In Germany there is a very conservative tradition to teach science in separated subjects during the secondary level of education. Considering the importance of knowledge-linking in all relevant learning theories of the 20th century, cross-curricular core concepts, like the concept of energy, found their way into German educational standards for biology, chemistry, and physics in 2005 (KMK, 2005a-c). The aim was to foster both more vertical (i.e. intra-subject) and more horizontal (i.e. inter-subject) linkage in subject-differentiated science education. Existing structural models or approaches to analysing and describing knowledge-linking focus exclusively either on the aspect of vertical or horizontal linkage. Based on existing models and approaches, we developed a theory-based model (MAVerBE) that allows a general analysis of the linking performance in essays. In this study, we investigate to what extent we can identify vertical and horizontal linkage structures in student essays on the cross-curricular core concept of energy in grade 9. Our results presented here give an empirical insight into students’ knowledge-linking in the sense of a normative survey. This survey should permit future comparative studies both on a national and international level to prove the popular assumption of the superiority of integrated-science teaching concerning knowledge-linking.

Isolation, Characterization, and Compositional Analysis of Polysaccharides from Pinot Noir Wines: An Exploratory Study

It has been reported that polysaccharides in wine can interact with tannins and other wine components and modify the sensory properties of the wine. Unfortunately, the contribution of polysaccharides to wine quality is poorly understood, mainly due to their complicated structure and varied composition. In addition, the composition and molecular structure of polysaccharides in different wines can vary greatly. In this study, the polysaccharides were isolated from pinot noir wine, then separated into high-molecular-weight (PNWP-H) and low-molecular-weight (PNWP-L) fractions using membrane-based ultrafiltration. Each polysaccharide fraction was further studied using size exclusion chromatography, UV-Vis, FT-IR, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-high-resolution mass spectrometry, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The results showed that PNWP-L and PNWP-H had different chemical properties and compositions. The FT-IR analysis showed that PNWPs were acidic polysaccharides with α- and β-type glycosidic linkages. PNWP-L and PNWP-H had different α- and β-type glycosidic linkage structures. FT-IR showed stronger antisymmetric and symmetric stretching vibrations of carboxylate anions of uronic acids in PNWP-L, suggesting more uronic acid in PNWP-L. The size exclusion chromatography results showed that over 72% of the PNWP-H fraction had molecular sizes from 25 kDa to 670 kDa. Only a small percentage of smaller molecular polysaccharides was found in the PNWP-H fraction. In comparison, all of the polysaccharides in the PNWP-L fraction were below 25 KDa, with a majority distributed approximately 6 kDa (95.1%). GC-MS sugar composition analysis showed that PNWP-L was mainly composed of galacturonic acid, rhamnose, galactose, and arabinose, while PNWP-H was mainly composed of mannose, arabinose, and galactose. The molecular size distribution and sugar composition analysis suggested that the PNWP-L primarily consisted of rhamnogalacturonans and polysaccharides rich in arabinose and galactose (PRAG). In comparison, PNWP-H were mostly mannoproteins and polysaccharides rich in arabinose and galactose (PRAG). Further research is needed to understand the impacts of these fractions on wine organoleptic properties.

Aberrant N-glycolylneuraminic acid in breast MCF-7 cancer cells and cancer stem cells.

N-Glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc) is not normally detected in humans because humans lack the hydroxylase enzyme that converts cytidine-5'-monophosphate-N-acetylneuraminic acid (CMP-Neu5Ac) to CMP-Neu5Gc; thus, any Neu5Gc appearing in the human body is aberrant. Neu5Gc has been observed in human cancer cells and tissues. Moreover, antibodies against Neu5Gc have been detected in healthy humans, which are obstacles to clinical xenotransplantation and stem cell therapies. Thus, the study of Neu5Gc in humans has important pathological and clinical relevance. Here, we report the N-glycoproteomics characterization of aberrant Neu5Gc in breast MCF-7 cancer cells and cancer stem cells (CSCs) at the molecular level of intact N-glycopeptides, including comprehensive information (peptide backbones, N-glycosites, N-glycan monosaccharide compositions, and linkage structures) based on a target-decoy theoretical database search strategy and a spectrum-level false discovery rate (FDR) control ≤1%. The existence of Neu5Gc on N-glycan moieties was further confirmed according to its characteristic oxonium fragment ions in the MS/MS spectra of either m/z 308.09816 (Neu5Gc) or 290.08759 (Neu5Gc-H2O). The results are an important addition to previously reported Neu5Ac data and can be further validated with targeted MS methods such as multiple and parallel reaction monitoring and biochemical methods such as immunoassays. This MS-based N-glycoproteomics method can be extended to the discovery and characterization of putative aberrant Neu5Gc in other biological and clinical systems.

Micro-strain governed photoluminescence emission intensity of sol-gel spin coated Eu doped ZnO thin films

The objective of the present study is to analyze the role of surface free energy and microstrain on optical properties of Eu- (1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 at.%) doped sol-gel spin coated ZnO film on glass substrates. X-ray diffraction results revealed the presence of (100) plane indicating highly oriented monocrystalline film. The crystallite size was in the range of 43 to 86 nm, and the microstrain in ZnO thin films decreased from 0.00079 to 0.00040 with Eu doping. UV–vis transmission indicated transparency of 80 to 95 percent with a dip at 377 nm for undoped ZnO, which was slightly displaced to 380 nm on doping with Eu. The reduction in band gap values calculated using Tauc's plot was in the range of 3.33 to 3.17 eV. The photoluminescence (PL) emission spectra demonstrated unaltered UV emission peak on doping with Eu, however, the reduction in PL intensity was governed by microstrain induced in ZnO thin film by Eu doping. PL intensity and microstrain both decreased with Eu doping up to 3 at.%, then increased for Eu 5 at.% and eventually decreased again for Eu 6 at.%. Field emission scanning electron microscopy results exhibited a variety of irregular multi-dimensional morphological characteristics. Rectangular, square, and spherical structures were observed in 1, 2, 5, and 6 at.% Eu doped ZnO thin film. In contrast, 3 at.% Eu doping revealed long chain linkage structures that stuck together. The water contact angle measurements established the hydrophilic nature of all the doped-films. The reduced surface free energy was implied by decreased contact angle for Eu doped ZnO thin films (1, 2, and 3 at.%). This result suggested that surface free energy can be tuned with the Eu-content in ZnO. Such synergistic optical and mechanical features in ZnO based materials can give opening to diverse applications ranging from brain inspired neural network to reduction of power consumption.