Nucleation Mode Research Articles

Shock-induced twinning/detwinning and spall failure in Cu–Ta nanolaminates at atomic scales

Abstract This study provides new insights into the role of interfaces on the deformation and failure mechanisms in shock-loaded Cu–Ta–Cu trilayer system. The thickness of the Ta layer, piston velocities, and shock pulse durations were varied to explore the impact of impedance mismatch and loading conditions on spallation behavior and twin formation. It was found that the interfaces play a crucial role in the dynamic response of these multilayered systems since secondary reflection waves generated at the interfaces significantly affected the peak stress and pressure profiles, influencing void nucleation and failure modes. In the trilayer systems, failure predominantly occurred at interfaces and within the Ta layer, with void nucleation sites and twinning behavior being markedly different compared to single-crystal Cu and Ta. Increasing the Ta layer thickness modified the wave interactions, leading to different failure locations. Higher piston velocities were associated with increased spall strength by enhancing wave interactions and void formation, particularly at the interfaces and within the Ta layer, under specific configurations. Additionally, shorter shock pulse durations facilitated earlier initiation of the release fan, reducing twin formation and altering the failure dynamics by accelerating twin annihilation and pressure release.

Influence of local meteorology and gaseous pollutant emissions on atmospheric nanoparticle concentrations in a pedestrian way in urban region

The roadside environment is one of the major sources of nanoparticle emission in the urban regions. The complex mixture of different pollutants makes it hard to understand the dynamics and behavior of nanoparticles. The study aims to analyze the dynamics of atmospheric nanoparticles ranging from 10 to 1000 nm along with local meteorological conditions and gaseous pollutants in a pedestrian way at a busy street in Delhi, a megalopolis in India, during all five major seasons of the study area. Nucleation mode particles were higher during the spring season, whereas the contribution of Aitken mode particles dominated the total particle number concentrations in the rest of the seasons. Due to the influence of vehicular sources, rush hour concentrations were higher than during non-rush hours. Thus, the diurnal pattern in particle concentration strongly coincided with emissions associated with the vehicular flow. During the winter season, the average total particle number concentration was observed to be maximum (4.1 × 104 cm-3) with a higher surface area of particles of 3.5 × 10-3 mm2m-3. Compared to the monsoon season, the concentration of NOX was 5 times higher in winter. The boundary layer height in the study region ranged from 600 to 2400 m during different seasons, and the maximum ventilation coefficient was observed to be >3000 m2s-1 during summer. Precipitation reduced the concentration of particles by half, from 2.2 x 104 to 1.1 x 104 cm-3, due to wet scavenging. The study revealed that the concentrations of particles depend not only on primary emissions but also are influenced by local meteorology and other co-emitted pollutants. Understanding the dynamics of atmospheric nanoparticles in urban roadside environments as outlined in this study is crucial to devise necessary mitigation measures for people residing near the road in order to reduce health impact and improve air quality.

Metal plate-based promotion on methane hydrate nucleation: Insights into the influence of metal type and surface properties

Hydrate-based technologies hold significant promise in the fields of gas storage, water desalination and gas separation, but their application is restricted by the long induction time and high degree of randomness associated with hydrate nucleation. In this study, we conducted experimental investigations to access the influence of metal plates (Mg, Al and Zn) on methane hydrate nucleation under both pure water and acidic conditions. The results demonstrated that Mg plate exhibited the strongest promotion effect on methane hydrate nucleation. The presence of acid significantly accelerated hydrate nucleation in the Zn plate system, but conversely reduced the promotion effect of Al plate. In conjunction with the in-situ morphology evolution of hydrate nucleation, methane-liquid–metal interface was found to play a crucial role in the metal-induced promotion effect. Two nucleation modes were proposed accordingly: (i) in pure water, hydrate nucleation initiated exclusively at the methane-liquid–metal interface without extra nucleation site (Mode 1), and (ii) in acidic condition, hydrate nucleation occurred with evident multiple nucleation sites (Mode 2). Furthermore, SEM imaging, AFM and contact angle characterization revealed that the surface properties of metal plate (e.g., hydrophilicity and roughness) were the key factors in determining the effectiveness of the promotion effect. Liquid climbing upward along the metal plate surface was vital for metal plates to promote gas hydrate formation. Overall, this study provides new insights into hydrate nucleation promotion and suggests a straightforward way to enhance hydrate nucleation by modifying surface properties

Magnetic properties of bamboo-like Ni-Zn-in nanowires using 3D-AAO templates

In this paper, using three-dimensional porous alumina (3D-AAO) as a template, Ni-Zn-In nanowires array with periodically changing diameters was successfully prepared by direct current electrodeposition method. The effect of deposition voltage on the morphology, crystal structure and magnetic properties of Ni-Zn-In ternary alloy nanowires was studied. The experimental results show that the diameters of the nanowires are 212 nm and 151 nm, and the periodic length is 800 nm, which matches the pore size of the phosphoric acid-etched 3D-AAO template. XRD results indicate that the crystal structure of Ni-Zn-In nanowires can be adjusted by the deposition voltage. The VSM results reveal that the Ni-Zn-In nanowires possess soft magnetic properties and significant magnetic anisotropy, with the easy magnetization direction parallel to the film. The nanowires deposited at −1.5 V exhibit the highest coercivity of 161 Oe and squareness of 0.045. Micromagnetic simulations show that the magnetization reversal mechanism of the Ni-Zn-In nanowires is localized nucleation mode.

Size distribution, sources and chemistry of ultrafine particles at Barcelona-El Prat Airport, Spain

The rapid expansion of the aviation sector raises concerns about air quality impacts within and around airports. Ultrafine particles (UFP, diameter < 100 nm) are of particular concern due to their potential adverse health effects. In this study, particle number concentrations (PNC), particle number size distribution (PNSD), and other ancillary pollutants such as particulate matter (PM), nitrogen oxides (NOX), black carbon (BC), sulfur dioxide (SO2), ozone (O3), carbon monoxide (CO) and benzene, as well as organic markers and trace elements (in quasi-UFP) were measured at Barcelona-El Prat Airport (80 m and 250 m from the main taxiway and runway). Comparisons were made with an urban background (UB) location, and source apportionment of PNSD was performed using Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF). PNC inside the airport was nine-fold higher than the UB, and fifteen-fold higher when considering only nucleation mode particles (< 25 nm). Six sources contributing to PNC were identified inside the airport: Taxiing (48.7 %; mode diameter = 17 nm), Industrial/Shipping (7.4 %; mode diameter = 35 nm), Diesel (3.9 %; mode diameter = 64 nm), Regional recirculation (1.1 %; mode diameter = 100 nm), Photonucleation (16.6 %; mode diameter = 13 nm) and Takeoff (18.5 %; mode diameter = 23 nm). Due to the measurement location and prevailing wind patterns, no significant contributions from landings were detected. Chemical analysis of quasi-UFP collected on Electrical Low-Pressure Impactor (ELPI + ) filters (stages 2 to 6: 17–165 nm) revealed higher concentrations (> 2-fold) of Fe, Al, Cr, Cu, Mo, Mn, Pb, Ti, and Sb at the airport compared to the UB, with Al exhibiting the most pronounced disparity. Generally, PAH levels were low at both sites, although concentrations were higher at the airport relative to the UB. Overall, this study provides a comprehensive understanding of UFP within a major European airport, identifying the different sources contributing to PNC and PNSD.

Electrochemical behavior of tantalum ions in molten salt electrolysis for nano-powder preparation

This research focused on analyzing the electrochemical properties of tantalum ions in NaCl-KCl molten salt during the extraction of tantalum and the synthesis of tantalum nano-powder. Tantalum ions were dissolved from the anode. Linear sweep voltammetry, cyclic voltammetry, square wave voltammetry, and chronoamperometry were employed to delve into the reduction and diffusion processes of tantalum ions. The study determined the diffusion coefficient, the nucleation process, and the deposition potential for tantalum ions. The findings revealed that the electrode reduction process of tantalum ions involved a three-step reaction: Ta5+→Ta3+→Ta+→Ta. This reaction was shown to be reversible and diffusion-controlled. The nucleation mode of tantalum ions was identified as instantaneous nucleation followed by progressive nucleation as the potential increased by chronoamperometry analysis. The cathodic deposition product was characterized using XRD, SEM, EDS, and TEM techniques, confirming the nanoscale granular nature and microstructure of the deposition products.

A comprehensive study on the validation and application of multi-lognormal distribution models for atmospheric particles

The particle number size distribution (PNSD) is crucial for evaluating air quality and mitigating environmental pollution, as particles of different sizes have diverse effects on human health and climate. However, obtaining a comprehensive understanding of PNSD is challenging due to its inherent complexities and variability. Multi-lognormal distribution models are employed to fit PNSD, as seen in climate models, but discrepancies between model fits and observed PNSD persist. This study adopts hourly data from 2017 to 2020 across eight monitoring sites in diverse environments—rural, urban, mountainous, and polar, and compares the observed PNDS with those simulated by multi-lognormal distribution models. The results demonstrated that the model generally achieved a high correlation with observed PNSD data (r2 > 0.75), effectively capturing key characteristics of nucleation and Aitken mode particles. However, the model had a tendency to overestimate the total number concentration by approximately 1.09 times, particularly noticeable under conditions of high concentrations of smaller particles. The model successfully represented prevalent bimodal size distribution patterns in urban areas with high ultrafine particle concentrations, though its performance was slightly less accurate in scenarios involving trimodal distributions. Despite these strong correlations and the model's ability to reflect diurnal and seasonal variations, which suggests its broad applicability and utility, there were notable limitations on smaller time scales and in specific particle size ranges. These limitations were particularly evident in capturing detailed phenomena relevant to new particle formation events, indicating areas where model refinement is necessary. The results highlighted the importance of investigating discrepancies between model predictions and actual observations, which is crucial for refining climate models that utilize PNDS. The uniform comparison facilitated a detailed exploration of particle properties from model results, offering deeper insights into aerosol behavior and its environmental impacts.

Revisiting the Epitaxial Growth Mechanism of 2D TMDC Single Crystals.

Epitaxial growth of 2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) on sapphire substrates has been recognized as a pivotal method for producing wafer-scale single-crystal films. Both step-edges and symmetry of substrate surfaces have been proposed as controlling factors. However, the underlying fundamental still remains elusive. In this work, through the molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) growth on C/M sapphire, it is demonstrated that controlling the sulfur evaporation rate is crucial for dictating the switch between atomic-edge guided epitaxy and van der Waals epitaxy. Low-concentration sulfur condition preserves O/Al-terminated step edges, fostering atomic-edge epitaxy, while high-concentration sulfur leads to S-terminated edges, preferring van der Waals epitaxy. These experiments reveal that on a 2 in. wafer, the van der Waals epitaxy mechanism achieves better control in MoS2 alignment (≈99%) compared to the step edge mechanism (<85%). These findings shed light on the nuanced role of atomic-level thermodynamics in controlling nucleation modes of TMDCs, thereby providing a pathway for the precise fabrication of single-crystal 2D materials on a wafer scale.

Variations in Cloud Concentration Nuclei Related to Continental Air Pollution Control and Maritime Fuel Regulation over the Northwest Pacific Ocean

Here, we compared the concentrations of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and particle number size distributions (PNSDs) measured during the transient period from the winter to the summer East Asian monsoon in 2021 with those in 2014 to explore possible responses to how CCN responds to upwind continental air pollutant mitigation and marine traffic fuel sulfur content (FSC) regulation over the northwest Pacific Ocean (NWPO). We also employed the Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) analysis to apportion concentrations of CCN (Nccn) to different sources in order to quantify its source-specified responses to mitigation of air pollution during the transient period. Our results showed that (1) upwind continental mitigation likely reduced Nccn by approximately 200 cm−3 and 400 cm−3 at 0.2% and 0.4% supersaturation (SS), respectively, in the marine background atmosphere over the NWPO; (2) FSC regulation resulted in a decrease in Nccn at 0.4% SS by about 50 cm−3 and was nearly negligible at 0.2% SS over the NWPO. Additionally, a PMF-resolved factor, characterized by a dominant nucleation mode, was present only in 2014 and disappeared in 2021, likely due to the reduction. This estimation, however, suffered from uncertainties since seasonal changes were hard to be deducted accurately. PMF-resolved factors accurately represented Nccn in 80–90% of cases, but this accuracy was not observed in the remaining cases. Finally, an integrated analysis of satellite-derived cloud parameters and ship-based measurements indicated that the reduced Nccn over the NWPO might be co-limited with meteorological factors in forming cloud droplets during the transient period.

Effects of Lean Burn on Combustion and Emissions of a DISI Engine Fueled with Methanol–Gasoline Blends

Methanol has significant potential as an alternative fuel for internal combustion engines. Using methanol–gasoline blends with lean-burn technology in traditional spark-ignition engines can enhance fuel economy and reduce emissions. This paper investigates the effects of lean burn on the combustion and emissions in a commercial direct-injection gasoline engine fueled with methanol–gasoline blends. The lean-burn mode is adjusted by controlling the injection strategy. The results show that homogeneous lean burn (HLB) has earlier combustion phase and better power performance when the excess air ratio (λ) is less than 1.3, while its combustion phase extends more than stratified lean burn (SLB) when λ exceeds 1.4. Both lean-burn modes achieve optimal fuel economy at λ = 1.2–1.3. Under stable conditions, BSFC decreases with higher methanol blending ratios, with SLB being more economical at low blending ratios and HLB at higher ratios. The lowest HC and particulate matter emissions for both modes are achieved around λ = 1.3. SLB has lower NOX emissions when λ &lt; 1.3, while HLB shows lower NOX emissions when λ &gt; 1.3. The particulate size distribution is bimodal for blending lean-burn conditions, with SLB having the highest nucleation mode peak and HLB the highest accumulation mode peak. M20 (20% volume of methanol) corresponds to the highest particle emissions under lean-burn conditions. This study can provide a deeper understanding of methanol–gasoline blending lean burn, and provide a reference for emission control of spark-ignition engines.

Revealing the nucleation and growth modes upon rapid solidification of undercooled Co-24 at.% Sn eutectic alloy by the crystallographic orientation relations

In the realm of undercooled eutectic alloys, the nucleation (i.e., copious vs. single) and the growth (i.e., coupled vs. decouple) modes, particularly the formation of anomalous eutectics, remain subjects of intense debate. This study delves into the crystallographic orientation relationships (ORs) during rapid solidification of an undercooled Co-24 at.% Sn eutectic alloy, where the high-temperature eutectic phases (β-Co3Sn2 and α-Co) persist to room temperature. A significant finding is the consistent observance of the same eutectic OR, i.e., 112̅0β−Co3Sn2 // 11̅1α−Co and 0001β−Co3Sn2 // 110α−Co, across various undercooling conditions from low to high and eutectic morphologies from lamellar to anomalous. This consistency underscores a unified growth mode of coupled eutectic growth. Furthermore, the observance of twin OR, i.e., 112̅1<11̅26>, 112̅2<1123̅> or 112̅4<2243̅>, between β-Co3Sn2 phases in diverse eutectic colonies, spanning from low to intermediate undercooling, and would also be the case of high undercooling, reinforces a single nucleation mode except under exceedingly low undercooling. Building on these insights, the anomalous eutectic colonies are suggested to be formed from a single origin where coupled eutectic growth of eutectic seaweeds or eutectic dendrites instead of dual origins. This study not only illuminates the underlying mechanisms of rapid solidification in undercooled eutectic alloys but also paves the way for innovative microstructure modulation strategies.

First insights into the new particle formation and growth at a north-eastern Romanian urban site, Iasi. Potential health risks from ultrafine particles

New particle formation (NPF) process brings significant contribution to the global atmospheric particle number concentrations. Evidence on the formation and growth of NPF is reported for the first time at a Romanian urban site, i.e., Iasi, north-eastern Romania. Size-dependent aerosol number concentrations were obtained during two short-term campaigns undertaken in 2017 by using a scanning mobility particle sizer. The existence of two categories of events can be highlighted by investigating the net maximum increase in the nucleation mode particle number concentration and the maximum size of the geometric median diameter of new particles. The variability of meteorological parameters showed that the solar radiation peak was usually associated with NPF events, while relative humidity was anti-correlated with those events. Calculated nucleation rate values for events in May, median of 4.5 cm−3 s−1, was lower than the corresponding median values of 8.6 cm−3 s−1 for December. The particle growth rates showed a similar trend with a median of 4.0 nm h−1 and 7.7 nm h−1, in May and December, respectively. The obtained results suggest that regional emission sources might bring some contributions on the particle nucleation and growth processes, particularly over the cold season. Regarding the deposition of particles in the respiratory system, it appears that ultrafine particles are among the most significant contributors to the alveolar deposits. Moreover, evidences were obtained that the impact on the particle deposition at the alveolar region is not mandatory in direct relation to the intensity of the NPF event, the pollution burden of the particles most probably playing an important role.

Detonation Soot: A New Class of Ice Nucleating Particle

AbstractTemperatures and pressures from high explosive detonations far exceed atmospheric conditions in typical combustion reactions, and consequently, detonation soot forms with physiochemical properties distinct from soot formed by combustion. In this study, samples of detonation soot from two high explosives, PBX 9502 and Composition B‐3, were analyzed. Ice nucleation experiments on soot collected after controlled detonations were conducted in the laboratory to probe immersion and contact mode freezing. Samples nucleated ice at temperatures warmer than commercially available nanodiamonds, which has a mean nucleation temperature of −20.7°C. Ice nucleation rate coefficients increase rapidly by two to three orders of magnitude below −20°C for every sample. Size‐selected 137 μm diameter particles produced during detonation in an ambient air atmosphere yield bimodal distributions of freezing temperature with primary and secondary nucleation modes centered at −20°C and −13°C, respectively. The presence of a secondary mode allows for enhanced ice nucleation rate coefficients (one to two orders of magnitude greater than samples without a secondary mode) at temperatures outside the influence of the primary mode (&gt;−17°C). Given the observed onset nucleation temperatures of −9.2°C, our results imply that detonation soot of the type studied here would only need to reach an altitude of approximately 4 km to facilitate ice formation.

Interfacial Biomacromolecular Engineering Toward Stable Ah-Level Aqueous Zinc Batteries.

Interfacial instability within aqueous zinc batteries (AZBs) spurs technical obstacles including parasitic side reactions and dendrite failure to reach the practical application standards. Here, an interfacial engineering is showcased by employing a bio- derived zincophilic macromolecule as the electrolyte additive (0.037 wt%), which features a long-chain configuration with laterally distributed hydroxyl and sulfate anion groups, and has the propensity to remodel the electric double layer of Zn anodes. Tailored Zn2+-rich compact layer is the result of their adaptive adsorption that effectively homogenizes the interfacial concentration field, while enabling a hybrid nucleation and growth mode characterized as nuclei-rich and space-confined dense plating. Further resonated with curbed corrosion and by-products, a dendrite-free deposition morphology is achieved. Consequently, the macromolecule-modified zinc anode delivers over 1250 times of reversible plating/stripping at a practical area capacity of 5 mAh cm-2, as well as a high zinc utilization rate of 85%. The Zn//NH4V4O10 pouch cell with the maximum capacity of 1.02 Ah can be steadily operated at 71.4mA g-1 (0.25 C) with 98.7% capacity retained after 50 cycles, which demonstrates the scale-up capability and highlights a "low input and high return" interfacial strategy toward practical AZBs.

In-depth characterization of exhaust particles performed on-board a modern cruise ship applying a scrubber

To comply with environmental regulations, ship operators may adopt exhaust after-treatment devices such as scrubbers or selective catalytic reduction (SCR). Beyond gaseous emission control, these technologies impact the exhaust particles emitted from marine engines to the atmosphere. This study characterizes comprehensively the chemical composition and physical properties of exhaust aerosol particles upstream and downstream a hybrid scrubber operating in open loop mode on-board a modern cruise ship. The study considers two engines, one equipped with SCR and both with scrubber, during engine load conditions of 75 % and 40 %, and the influence of marine gas oil (MGO) use in addition to heavy fuel oil (HFO). At least 4 different particle types were observed in the exhaust based on transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies both upstream and downstream scrubber, and both scrubber and SCR affected the particle number size distribution (PSD). The geometric mean diameter (GMD) of the particles increased over scrubber both due to removal of nucleation mode particles and particle growth in the scrubber. The scrubber effectively decreased particle number (PN) and, also, non-volatile particles, but the effect depended on particle size and no significant decrease was observed in number of particles above 50 nm, typically comprising black carbon (BC) and in the case of HFO combustion, also asymmetrical metal containing particles. In addition to PN, concentrations of PAH compounds were reduced in the scrubber. The results may be further utilized when including the exhaust aerosol characteristics from ships applying scrubbers to emission inventories, as well as climate and air quality models.

Magma-induced tectonics at the East Pacific Rise 9°50’N: Evidence from high-resolution characterization of seafloor and subseafloor

At fast-spreading centers, faults develop within the axial summit trough (AST; 0 to 250 m around the axis) primarily by diking-induced deformation originating from the axial magma lens (AML). The formation of the prominent abyssal-hill-bounding faults beyond the axial high (>2,000 m) is typically associated with the unbending of the lithosphere as it cools and spreads away from the AST. The presence of faults is rarely mapped between these two thermally distinct zones, where the lithosphere is still too hot for the faults to be linked with the process of thermal cooling and outside of the AST where the accretional diking process dominates the ridge axis. Here, we reveal a remarkable vertical alignment between the distinct morphological features of the magma body and the orientation of these faults, by comparison of 3-D seismic imagery and bathymetry data collected at the East Pacific Rise (EPR) 9°50'N. The spatial coincidence and asymmetric nucleation mode of the mapped faults represent the most direct evidence for magmatically induced faulting near the ridge axis, providing pathways for hydrothermalism and magma emplacement, helping to build the crust outside of the AST. The high-resolution seafloor and subsurface images also enable revised tectonic strain estimates, which shows that the near-axis tectonic component of seafloor spreading at the EPR is an order of magnitude smaller than previously thought with close to negligible contribution of lava buried faults to spreading.

Natural Marine Precursors Boost Continental New Particle Formation and Production of Cloud Condensation Nuclei.

Marine dimethyl sulfide (DMS) emissions are the dominant source of natural sulfur in the atmosphere. DMS oxidizes to produce low-volatility acids that potentially nucleate to form particles that may grow into climatically important cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). In this work, we utilize the chemistry transport model ADCHEM to demonstrate that DMS emissions are likely to contribute to the majority of CCN during the biological active period (May-August) at three different forest stations in the Nordic countries. DMS increases CCN concentrations by forming nucleation and Aitken mode particles over the ocean and land, which eventually grow into the accumulation mode by condensation of low-volatility organic compounds from continental vegetation. Our findings provide a new understanding of the exchange of marine precursors between the ocean and land, highlighting their influence as one of the dominant sources of CCN particles over the boreal forest.

Size distribution of brake wear particulate matter based on a brake dynamometer investigation

A brake dynamometer has been modified to accurately study the concentration and size distribution of wear particles in different testing conditions. The test equipment was a charged low-pressure impactor ELPI+ from Dekati, Finland. 29 test conditions were defined based on speed, acceleration and initial brake temperature. Additionally, five different types of brake pads were selected for testing to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the particle size distribution characteristics of brake wear particles. The results showed that the mass of BWPs was unimodal in the range of 0.01–8.11 μm, with peak sizes at 2–5 μm or &amp;gt;8.11 μm, and particles of 0.5–3.0 μm accounted for an average of 49.09% of the total particulate mass, while particles with sizes of 3.0–8.11 μm accounted for an average of 49.72% of the total particulate mass. The number of particles emitted by abrasion had a bimodal distribution, with one in the nucleation mode and the other in the accumulation mode, with peak sizes of &amp;lt;10 nm and 1 μm, respectively; the nucleation mode particles accounted for an average of 60.11% of the total PN10, and the ultrafine particles accounted for an average of 82.15%.

From GaN crystallinity to device performance: Nucleation mode vs Surface energy of single-crystalline AlN template

In this paper, the surface state of the single-crystalline AlN template's impact on the epitaxial growth of gallium nitride (GaN) was studied. Subsequently, Schottky barrier devices were fabricated and analyzed. The results indicate that surface states subjected to different treatments exhibit varying epitaxial growth modes at the initial nucleation stage, which have a correlated effect on surface topography, crystalline quality, strain and other material characteristics of the epitaxial GaN. Higher surface energy leads to a reduction in screw dislocation of GaN material, but has less influence on edge dislocation. Single-crystalline AlN templates with higher surface energy are more likely to exhibit Stranski-Krastanow and Frank-van der Merwe growth model and achieve high-quality epitaxial materials. Schottky devices prepared using GaN material with lower screw dislocation density exhibit lower reverse leakage current. First-principles simulation analysis revealed that the migration barrier of gallium and nitrogen atoms on the surface can be overcome with the larger surface energy of single-crystalline AlN template. This facilitates their migration on the surface, resulting in higher quality material epitaxy. The conclusions of this work provide insights for quality control of epitaxial GaN materials on single-crystalline AlN templates, as well as for studying device leakage in the backend of the device fabrication process, or similar homogeneous compound semiconductor heteroepitaxy studies.

Characteristics of new particle formation events occurred over the Yellow Sea in Springtime from 2019 to 2022

Characteristics of atmospheric new particle formation (NPF) events were investigated using the data obtained from the ship measurement campaign named Yellow Sea Air Quality (YES-AQ) over the Yellow Sea during the springtime from 2019 to 2022. NPF events occurred 15 times for the valid 128 observation days for the four-year period, and the average and standard deviation formation rate (FR) and growth rate (GR) of the NPF events were 2.38 ± 1.53 cm−3 s−1 and 4.11 ± 2.81 nm h−1, respectively. The FR and GR were close to those in urban regions, implying the unique characteristics of the Yellow Sea. Owing to the NPF events, the number concentrations of total aerosols and nucleation mode particles increased by approximately 7850 and 6002 cm−3, respectively, and those of cloud condensation nuclei at 0.2% and 0.6% supersaturation increased by about 1269 and 3269 cm−3, respectively. The NPF events mostly occurred under the meteorological conditions of low temperature and relative humidity as well as high solar radiation and wind speed. These meteorological conditions appeared predominantly when the air mass originated from the continent north of the Korean Peninsula. The current analyses based on the data measured repeatedly during a specific period each year, which were not well conducted in other maritime NPF studies, highlight the reliability of the presented characteristics of NPF events over the Yellow Sea.