Similar Absorption Coefficients Research Articles

Simulation Study: Data-Driven Material Decomposition in Industrial X-ray Computed Tomography

Material-resolving computed tomography is a powerful and well-proven tool for various clinical applications. For industrial scan setups and materials, several problems, such as K-edge absence and beam hardening, prevent the direct transfer of these methods. This work applies dual-energy computed tomography methods for material decomposition to simulated phantoms composed of industry-relevant materials such as magnesium, aluminium and iron, as well as some commonly used alloys like Al–Si and Ti64. Challenges and limitations for multi-material decomposition are discussed in the context of X-ray absorption physics, which provides spectral information that can be ambiguous. A deep learning model, derived from a clinical use case and based on the popular U-Net, was utilised in this study. For various reasons outlined below, the training dataset was simulated, whereby phantom shapes and material properties were sampled arbitrarily. The detector signal is computed by a forward projector followed by Beer–Lambert law integration. Our trained model could predict two-material systems with different elements, achieving a relative error of approximately 1% through simulated data. For the discrimination of the element titanium and its alloy Ti64, which were also simulated, the relative error increased to 5% due to their similar X-ray absorption coefficients. To access authentic CT data, the model underwent testing using a 10c euro coin composed of an alloy known as Nordic gold. The model detected copper as the main constituent correctly, but the relative fraction, which should be 89%, was predicted to be ≈70%.

Assessment of 3D micro-computed tomography for PV interconnection technology development

X-ray (micro-)computed tomography is a non-destructive characterization method using photons to obtain multiple radiographic projections, which generates a 3D volume rendering of a scanned object after reconstruction. It is recently used in the research and development of photovoltaic modules to investigate smaller volumes in a PV module, for example, detection of cavities in solder joints and visualization of module volumes up to connection ribbon sizes. This work shows that current advanced devices are able to scan larger volumes, using a single-cell 20 × 20 × 0.5 cm 3 module with back-contact multi-ribbon interconnection technology as an example. The generated 3D volume renderings show the interconnection structures and give information on ribbon-metallization interconnections. Next to this, also the solder reflow volume is visible, indicating that the technology has great potential to be used in further interconnection technology development. Finally, a destructive cross section analysis using scanning electron microscopy is performed; it has a higher resolution and can differentiate elements with similar photon absorption coefficients, thus enabling microstructure and intermetallic compound analysis. The findings show the potential for micro-computed tomography as a non-destructive and relatively fast visualization method and how it can give complementary information to other characterization techniques for photovoltaic interconnection research. • X-ray computed tomography is a non-destructive visual inspection technique. • Scanning electron microscopy and x-ray tomography are complementary. • X-ray tomography can aid PV interconnection technology developments.

Nonlinear Absorption in Plasmonic Titanium Nitride Nanocrystals

AbstractTitanium nitride nanoparticles have become a research interest due to their distinguished optical and photothermal properties. Furthermore, the search for nanoparticle solutions with tunable nonlinear optical properties for laser‐based applications is critical. More specifically, third order optical nonlinearities such as reverse saturable absorption, optical liming, and self‐focusing are important in the biomedical and electronics fields. The optical nonlinearities of titanium nitride plasmonic nanoparticles are investigated as a function of material concentration in water solutions. Furthermore, the effect of nanoparticle clustering on optical nonlinearities is investigated by fabricating micrometer‐sized clusters of ≈50 nm titanium nitride particles. These studies demonstrate that the nonlinear absorption coefficient increases linearly with concentration. However, clusters require higher concentrations compared to the freestanding nanoparticles to exhibit similar nonlinear absorption coefficient and optical density. Similarly, the optical limiting threshold for titanium nitride nanoparticles appears to be lower compared to the cluster solutions, which is impacted by the collective scattering of nanoparticles and high reverse saturable absorption. In addition, self‐focusing is observed in the continuous resonant regime. This study provides an in‐depth analysis of the nonlinear optical properties of titanium nitride, with relevant consequences for applications such as sensor protection and photothermal therapy.

Photolytic Studies of Norbornadiene Derivatives under High-Intensity Light Conditions.

The photoconversion of a norbornadiene (NBD) derivative was studied under high-intensity mono- and polychromatic light conditions at high concentrations. The photoisomerization quantum yield (ϕNBD→QC), proceeding from NBD to its quadricyclane (QC) isomer, was determined using a tunable OPO laser and a solar simulator light source. The solar simulator was designed to mimic the AM1.5G solar spectrum between 300 and 900 nm. Using the OPO laser, ϕNBD→QC was measured at discrete values between 310 and 350 nm in steps of 10 nm, and a variation between 0.81 and 0.96 was observed. Weighting these values of ϕNBD→QC with the spectral profile of the solar simulator, an averaged value of 0.87 ± 0.03 was obtained. Determination of ϕNBD→QC was also performed directly in the solar simulator providing a value of 0.97 ± 0.14, in good agreement with the weighted values from the OPO. Photoisomerization quantum yields were found to decrease slightly at higher concentrations. At high concentrations, we found that correcting for the presence of QC was important due to similar absorption coefficients of the NBD and QC isomers at the absorption tail. Cyclability of the forward and backward NBD/QC conversion was studied over several cycles. The NBD/QC couple exhibited excellent thermal stability, but a slight photodegradation per cycle was observed, increasing with the concentration of the sample. This result indicates that the molecules undergo some intermolecular reactions.

14.46% Efficiency small molecule organic photovoltaics enabled by the well trade-off between phase separation and photon harvesting

Small molecule organic photovoltaics (SMPVs) were prepared by utilizing liquid crystalline donor material BTR-Cl and two similar optical bandgap non-fullerene acceptor materials BTP-BO-4F and Y6. The BTP-BO-4F and Y6 have the similar optical bandgap and different absorption coefficients. The corresponding binary SMPVs exhibit different short circuit current density (JSC) (20.38 vs. 23.24 mA cm−2), and fill factor (FF) (70.77% vs. 67.21%). A 14.46% power conversion efficiency (PCE) is acquired in ternary SMPVs with 30 wt% Y6, companied with a JSC of 24.17 mA cm−2, a FF of 68.78% and an open circuit voltage (VOC) of 0.87 V. The improvement on PCE of ternary SMPVs should originate from the well trade-off between phase separation and photon harvesting of ternary active layers by incorporating 30 wt% Y6 in acceptors. This work may deliver insight onto the improved performance of SMPVs by superposing the superiorities of binary SMPVs with similar optical bandgap acceptors into one ternary cell.

Optical, Electronic Properties and Anisotropy in Mechanical Properties of "X" Type Carbon Allotropes.

Based on first-principle calculations, the mechanical anisotropy and the electronic and optical properties of seven kinds of carbon materials are investigated in this work. These seven materials have similar structures: they all have X-type structures, with carbon atoms or carbon clusters at the center and stacking towards the space. A calculation of anisotropy shows that the order of elastic anisotropy in terms of the shear modulus, Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio of these seven carbon materials with similar structure is diamond < supercubane < T carbon < Y carbon < TY carbon < cubane-diyne < cubane-yne. As these seven carbon materials exhibit cubic symmetry, Young’s modulus has the same anisotropy in some major planes, so the order of elastic anisotropy in the Young’s modulus of these seven main planes is (111) plane < (001) plane = (010) plane = (100) plane < (011) plane = (110) plane = (101) plane. It is also due to the fact that their crystal structure has cubic symmetry that the elastic anisotropy in the shear modulus and the Poisson’s ratio of these seven carbon materials on the seven major planes are the same. Among the three propagation directions of [100], [110], and [111], the [110] propagation direction’s anisotropic ratio of the sound velocity of TY carbon is the largest, while the anisotropic ratio of the sound velocity of cubane-diyne on the [100] propagation direction is the smallest. In addition, not surprisingly, the diamond has the largest Debye temperature, while the TY carbon has the smallest Debye temperature. Finally, TY carbon, T carbon and cubane-diyne are also potential semiconductor materials for photoelectric applications owing to their higher or similar absorption coefficients to GaAs in the visible region.

Void distribution in a brazed cemented carbide steel joint analyzed by X-ray microscopy

Brazing is a relatively fast process that offers sufficient strength in the joint of dissimilar materials. Cemented carbides are often brazed onto steel components in order to improve the wear resistance of engineering tools. In the case of brazing such materials in an ambient atmosphere, a flux is necessary to improve the wetting of the liquid filler alloy on the surfaces. In some cases, the flux cannot be sufficiently removed from the small joint, thus forming voids during solidification. This phenomenon can greatly affect the integrity of the joint. Such voids are not adequately detectable by visual inspection or common nondestructive testing methods, such as ultrasonic scanning, acoustic emission testing, or thermography. In this study, X-ray microscopy is shown to provide adequate visualization and a quantitative analysis of the dispersion of voids within brazed components of cold work steel, 115CrV3, and cemented carbide, K10 (ISO 513). One of the challenging tasks when analyzing the aforementioned brazed materials is achieving a sufficiently high resolution within the joint gap, since the sample materials have similar X-ray absorption coefficients. Such high resolution was successfully achieved in this study by means of multiple scanning and image reconstruction techniques, such as beam filtering, dataset levelling, and noise removal. The voids on the 115CrV3-side are found to expand radially towards the edges of the specimen up to a maximum volume of 1.18E + 07 µm3. The same radial pattern was detected on the side of the K10, where the voids contracted in volume towards the center of the specimen. However, the K10-side was found to exhibit relatively larger voids with a maximum volume of 7.70E + 07 µm3, that is approximately seven times larger than that detected on the 115CrV3-side.

Coded cone-beam x-ray diffraction tomography with a low-brilliance tabletop source

X-ray diffraction tomography (XDT) probes the spatially variant x-ray diffraction (XRD) profile within volumetric objects. Here, we demonstrate a tabletop XDT setup with coded cone-beam illumination that accelerates the acquisition process of three-dimensional (3D) objects. Compared to the attenuation-based x-ray computed tomography (CT), XDT images display high contrast and specificity among materials with similar absorption coefficients. However, due to the weak signal level of diffraction and the low efficiency in source utilization and detection, conventional XDT systems require high-brilliance synchrotron sources to manage the acquisition time. In this paper, we propose a coded-illumination XDT system that utilizes the cone-beam from a tabletop x-ray tube and eliminates the detector-side collimation. The multiplexed measurement promotes parallelization in the data acquisition and enables simple implementation of compressive measurements, addressing the need of tabletop XDT systems in industrial nondestructive testing and medical imaging applications. We have demonstrated 1 order of magnitude reduction in XDT acquisition time, making high-contrast 3D x-ray imaging accessible to various research and application areas.

Reduced-Dimensional α-CsPbX3 Perovskites for Efficient and Stable Photovoltaics

Summary Inorganic CsPbX3 perovskites have gained great attention owing to their excellent thermal stability and carrier transport properties. However, the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of solution-processed CsPbX3 perovskite solar cells is still far inferior to that of their hybrid analogues. Insufficient film thickness and undesirable phase transition are the two major obstacles limiting their device performance. Here, we show that by adopting a new precursor pair, cesium acetate (CsAc) and hydrogen lead trihalide (HPbX3), we were able to overcome the notorious solubility limitation for Cs precursors to fabricate high-quality CsPbX3 perovskite films with large film thickness (∼500 nm). We further introduced a judicious amount of phenylethylammonium iodide (PEAI) into the system to induce reduced-dimensional perovskite formation. Unprecedentedly, the resulting quasi-2D perovskites significantly suppressed undesirable phase transition and thus reduced the film's trap density. Following this approach, we reported a state-of-the-art PCE to date, 12.4%, for reduced-dimensional α-CsPbI3 perovskite photovoltaics with greatly improved performance longevity.

Synchrotron Phase Tomography: An Emerging Imaging Method for Microvessel Detection in Engineered Bone of Craniofacial Districts.

The engineering of large 3D constructs, such as certain craniofacial bone districts, is nowadays a critical challenge. Indeed, the amount of oxygen needed for cell survival is able to reach a maximum diffusion distance of ~150–200 μm from the original vascularization vector, often hampering the long-term survival of the regenerated tissues. Thus, the rapid growth of new blood vessels, delivering oxygen and nutrients also to the inner cells of the bone grafts, is mandatory for their long-term function in clinical practice. Unfortunately, significant progress in this direction is currently hindered by a lack of methods with which to visualize these processes in 3D and reliably quantify them. In this regard, a challenging method for simultaneous 3D imaging and analysis of microvascularization and bone microstructure has emerged in recent years: it is based on the use of synchrotron phase tomography. This technique is able to simultaneously identify multiple tissue features in a craniofacial bone site (e.g., the microvascular and the calcified tissue structure). Moreover, it overcomes the intrinsic limitations of both histology, achieving only a 2D characterization, and conventional tomographic approaches, poorly resolving the vascularization net in the case of an incomplete filling of the newly formed microvessels by contrast agents. Indeed, phase tomography, being based on phase differences among the scattered X-ray waves, is capable of discriminating tissues with similar absorption coefficients (like vessels and woven bone) in defined experimental conditions. The approach reviewed here is based on the most recent experiences applied to bone regeneration in the craniofacial region.

Light absorption and the photoformation of hydroxyl radical and singlet oxygen in fog waters

The atmospheric aqueous-phase is a rich medium for chemical transformations of organic compounds, in part via photooxidants generated within the drops. Here we measure light absorption, photoformation rates and steady-state concentrations of two photooxidants – hydroxyl radical (•OH) and singlet molecular oxygen (1O2*) – in 8 illuminated fog waters from Davis, California and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Mass absorption coefficients for dissolved organic compounds (MACDOC) in the samples are large, with typical values of 10,000–15,000 cm2 g-C−1 at 300 nm, and absorption extends to wavelengths as long as 450–600 nm. While nitrite and nitrate together account for an average of only 1% of light absorption, they account for an average of 70% of •OH photoproduction. Mean •OH photoproduction rates in fogs at the two locations are very similar, with an overall mean of 1.2 (±0.7) μM h−1 under Davis winter sunlight. The mean (±1σ) lifetime of •OH is 1.6 (±0.6) μs, likely controlled by dissolved organic compounds. Including calculated gas-to-drop partitioning of •OH, the average aqueous concentration of •OH is approximately 2 × 10−15 M (midday during Davis winter), with aqueous reactions providing approximately one-third of the hydroxyl radical source. At this concentration, calculated lifetimes of aqueous organics are on the order of 10 h for compounds with •OH rate constants of 1 × 1010 M−1 s−1 or higher (e.g., substituted phenols such as syringol (6.4 h) and guaiacol (8.4 h)), and on the order of 100 h for compounds with rate constants near 1 × 109 M−1 s−1 (e.g., isoprene oxidation products such as glyoxal (152 h), glyoxylic acid (58 h), and pyruvic acid (239 h)). Steady-state concentrations of 1O2* are approximately 100 times higher than those of •OH, in the range of (0.1–3.0) × 10−13 M. Since 1O2* is a more selective oxidant than •OH, it will only react appreciably with electron-rich species such as dimethyl furan (lifetime of 2.0 h) and substituted polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (e.g., 9,10-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene with a lifetime of 0.7 h). Comparing our current Davis samples with Davis fogs collected in the late 1990s shows a decrease in dissolved organic carbon content, similar mass absorption coefficients, lower •OH concentrations, but very similar 1O2* concentrations.

Investigations of quantum efficiency in type-II InAs/GaSb very long wavelength infrared superlattice detectors

In this paper, we have investigated the quantum efficiency (QE) of InAs/GaSb T2SL very long wavelength Infrared (VLWIR) photodetectors with 50% cutoff of 12.7 μm. Due to the small depletion width and similar absorption coefficient in the T2SL material system, the minority-carrier diffusion length was determined as the key element to improve the QE of VLWIR T2SL photodetectors. The minority-carrier diffusion length was estimated by a comparison of the experimental data with the Hovel model. Our result suggest that the short hole diffusion length (Lh ∼ 520 nm) and the large its ratio to the width of this region (xn/Lh) are considered against the photo-excited carrier collection in the T2SL photodetectors. In addition, the influence of surface recombination velocity (Sh) on the QE of the T2SL photodetectors is also studied. The change of QE with Sh is not so significant due to the relatively low absorption coefficient and short hole diffusion length in our photodetector.

Near-infrared absorbing polymer nano-particle as a sensitive contrast agent for photo-acoustic imaging.

Polymer nano-particles (PNPs) with a near-infrared (NIR) light absorption were prepared by the nano-emulsion method to develop contrast agents for photo-acoustic (PA) imaging. The PNP containing silicon naphthalocyanine showed a high absorption coefficient up to 10(10) M(-1) cm(-1). This is comparable to plasmonic gold nano-particles, which have been studied as PA contrast agents. For the PNP larger than 100 nm, the enhancement of the PA signal was observed compared to the gold nano-particle with a similar absorption coefficient and size. In the case of the PNP, the heat by the light absorption is confined in the particle due to the low thermal diffusivity of polymer materials. We showed that the strong thermal confinement effect of PNP results in the enhancement of the efficiency of the PA signal generation and that the PA intensity can be enhanced by the increase of the Grüneisen parameter of the matrix polymer of PNP. The PA signal from the PNP of poly(methyl methacrylate) was 9-fold larger than that of gold nano-particles with the same absorption coefficient. We demonstrated that in the in vivo PA imaging the detection limit of PNP was of the order of 10(-13) M. The NIR absorbing PNP will be a promising candidate of a sensitive contrast agent for PA imaging.

Use of re-esterified palm oils, differing in their acylglycerol structure, in weaning-piglet diets

Re-esterified oils are new fat sources obtained from chemical esterification of acid oils with glycerol (both economically interesting by-products from oil refining and biodiesel industries, respectively). The different fatty acid (FA) positional distribution and acylglycerol composition of re-esterified oils may enhance the apparent absorption of saturated fatty acids (SFA) and, thus, their overall nutritive value. The aim of the present study was to investigate the potential use of re-esterified palm oils, in comparison with their corresponding acid and native oils, and also with an unsaturated fat source in weaning-piglet diets. The parameters assessed were: FA apparent absorption, acylglycerol and free fatty acid (FFA) composition of feces, and growth performance. One-hundred and twenty weaning piglets (average weight of 8.50±1.778 kg) were blocked by initial BW (six blocks) and randomly assigned to five dietary treatments, resulting in four piglets per pen and six replicates per treatment. Dietary treatments were a basal diet supplemented with 10% (as-fed basis) of native soybean oil (SN), native palm oil (PN), acid palm oil (PA), re-esterified palm oil low in mono- (MAG) and diacylglycerols (DAG) (PEL), or re-esterified palm oil high in MAG and DAG (PEH). Results from the digestibility balance showed that SN reached the greatest total FA apparent absorption, and statistically different from PN, PA and PEL (P<0.05). There were no statistical differences among palm-oil sources (P>0.05), but PEH achieved the greatest total FA apparent absorption. Animals fed PEL, despite the fact that PEL oil contained more sn-2 SFA, did not show an improved absorption of SFA (P>0.05). Animals fed PA and PN showed similar apparent absorption coefficients (P>0.05), despite the high FFA content of PA oil. The acylglycerol and FFA composition of feces was mainly composed of FFA. There were no significant differences in growth performance (P>0.05). Results of the present study suggest that, despite the different acylglycerol structure of re-esterified oils, there were no significant differences in digestibility or performance with respect to their corresponding PN and PA oils in weaning-piglet diets.

Use of re-esterified palm oils, differing in their acylglycerol structure, in fattening pig diets

Re-esterified oils are new fat sources obtained from the chemical esterification of acid oils with glycerol (both economically interesting by-products from oil refining and biodiesel industries, respectively). The different fatty acid (FA) positional distribution and acylglycerol composition of re-esterified oils may enhance the apparent absorption of saturated fatty acids (SFA) and, therefore, their overall nutritive value, which might lead to an increased deposition of SFA. The aim of the present study was to investigate the potential use of re-esterified palm oils, in comparison with their corresponding acid and native oils in fattening pig diets, studying their effects on fatty acid apparent absorption, acylglycerol and free fatty acid (FFA) composition of feces, growth performance, carcass-fat depots and fatty acid composition of backfat. Seventy-two crossbred boars and gilts (average weight of 24.7±2.55 kg) were blocked by initial BW (nine blocks of BW for each gender), housed in adjacent individual boxes, and fed one of the four dietary treatments, which were the result of a basal diet supplemented with 4% (as-fed basis) of native palm oil (PN), acid palm oil (PA), re-esterified palm oil low in mono- and diacylglycerols (PEL), or re-esterified palm oil high in mono- and diacylglycerols (PEH). Regarding results from the digestibility balance, PA and PN showed similar apparent absorption coefficients (P>0.05), despite the high, FFA content of the former. However, re-esterified palm oils (both PEL and PEH) showed a higher apparent absorption of total FA than did their corresponding native and acid oils (P<0.001), mainly due to the increased apparent absorption of SFA (P<0.001). This resulted in a greater feed efficiency and an increased deposition of SFA in backfat of pigs fed PEH, when compared with those fed PA (P<0.05), although no differences were found for carcass-fat depots (P>0.05). We conclude that re-esterified oils are interesting fat sources to be considered in fattening pigs.

Contactless and non-destructive differentiation of microstructures of sugar foams by hyperspectral scatter imaging

Abstract A hyperspectral scatter imaging system was developed for the contactless acquisition of spatially resolved diffuse reflectance profiles for the optical characterization of turbid food products in the wavelength range from 500 to 960 nm. To investigate the potential of this concept sugar foams with different microstructures, but with similar chemical compositions, have been prepared by applying different mixing times to the same mixtures of sugar and albumin. Hyperspectral scatter images have been acquired from these samples and the absorption and reduced scattering coefficients have been derived from spatially resolved reflectance profiles based on the diffusion approximation of the radiative transfer equation describing the light propagation in turbid media. The estimated reduced scattering coefficients μ s ′ spectra clearly reflected the effect of the different mixing times on the foam microstructure. On the other hand, similar absorption coefficient spectra were observed, confirming the identical chemical composition of the sugar–albumin matrix. These results indicate that the hyperspectral scatter imaging technique has potential as a non-contact and rapid method for online quality control and process monitoring of foamed food products. Industrial relevance The presented non-contact and non-destructive hyperspectral scatter imaging technique has potential for many applications in food industry domain. The technique is suitable for on-line scanning of food samples owing to the line-scanning operation in which all the wavebands are recorded simultaneously by the CCD camera. Such non-contact online screening ability makes the hyperspectral technique become highly desirable for industrial application in sorting and grading of food products by means of optical properties related to food quality attributes. A hyperspectral scatter imaging system can be easily integrated into industrial conveyor belt system for on-line food quality assessment and monitoring of industrial processes.

Investigation on sound absorption properties of kapok fibers

Sound absorption properties of natural kapok fibers have been investigated. Kapok fibrous assemblies with different bulk density, thickness, fiber length and orientation were manufactured, and their acoustical performances were evaluated by using an impedance tube instrument. Results show that the kapok fiber has excellent acoustical damping performance due to its natural hollow structure, and the sound absorption coefficients of kapok fibrous assemblies are significantly affected by the bulk density, thickness and arrangement of kapok fibers but less dependent on the fiber length. Compared with assemblies of commercial glass wool and degreasing cotton fibers, the kapok fiber assemblies with the same thickness but much smaller bulk density may have the similar sound absorption coefficients. Theoretical modelling of the acoustical damping performance of kapok fibers shows a good agreement with the experimental data. All the results demonstrate that kapok fiber is a promising light and environment-friendly sound absorption material.

Three‐dimensional thermoacoustic imaging for early breast cancer detection

Microwave-induced thermoacoustic tomography (TAT) is a noninvasive modality based on the differences in microwave absorption of various biological tissues. In this paper, the feasibility of the early breast tumor detection by TAT system has been discussed and validated experimentally. A fast TAT system, which based on three 128-elements transducers, a 384-64ch switch and a parallel data acquisition system (DAS), was developed to reconstruct the three-dimensional (3D) image of a breast model with similar microwave absorption coefficient to breast tissue. A novel method to explore the ability of TAT system to distinguish absorption coefficient was introduced and the minimum absorption coefficient difference that can be distinguished clearly by our TAT system is 12 m(-1). The potential applications of the TAT system were clearly demonstrated by successfully mapping breast model with mimicked tumors and microcalcification. An imaging experiment of human breast tumor embedding in the breast model was performed and the tumor was visualized by the 3D thermoacoustic volume. The thermoacoustic images match well with the samples and achieve penetration depth of 6 cm. The experimental results indicate that TAT has a great potential to be used for detecting early-stage breast cancers with high contrast and high resolution.

UV‐Irradiation Cured Organic‐inorganic Hybrid Nanocomposite Initiated by Ethoxysilane‐modified Multifunctional Polymeric Photoinitiator through Sol‐gel Process

AbstractThe UV‐cured organic‐inorganic hybrid nanocomposite (nano‐Si‐m‐PI) was prepared through the photopolymerization of acrylic resin initiated by ethoxysilane‐modified multifunctional oligomeric photoinitiator (Si‐m‐PI). The esterification reaction of 2‐hydroxy‐4′‐(2‐hydroxyethoxy)‐2‐methylpropiophenone (Irgacure 2959) with thioglycolic acid, and the following addition reactions with dipentaerythritol hexaacrylate and then 3‐aminopropyltriethoxysilane were carried out for preparing the Si‐m‐PI. The Si‐m‐PI exhibits the similar UV absorption and molar extinction coefficient with Irgacure 2959. The photoinitiating activity study by photo‐DSC analysis showed that the Si‐m‐PI possesses high photopolymerization rate at the peak maximum (Rpmax) and final unsaturation conversion (Pf) in the cured hybrid films. From the scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation, the SiO2 nanoparticles dispersed uniformly in the formed nano‐Si‐m‐PI, whereas the aggregation of nanoparticals occurred in nano‐Irg, which was prepared through the photopolymerization of acrylic resin initiated by Irgacure 2959. Moreover, compared with the UV‐cured pure polymer and nano‐Irg, the nano‐Si‐m‐PI showed remarkably enhanced thermal stability and mechanical properties.

Microstructure and complex magnetic permeability of thermally sprayed NiZn ferrite coatings for electromagnetic wave absorbers

Ferrites are iron containing, non-conducting ceramics, which exhibit magnetic properties. One of the most common is (Ni,Zn)1Fe2O4. Bulk ferrites are typically made by conventional ceramic sintering. However, manufacture of thick coatings is of growing interest, and deposition by thermal spraying is potentially attractive. The present paper reports work on the development of (Ni0·549Zn0·333Co0·028Mn0·049)O0·958Fe2O3 based powder feedstock by self-propagating high temperature synthesis and coating deposition by both air plasma and high velocity oxy-fuel spraying. The results obtained show that some decomposition of the ferrite material occurred with the loss of zinc and oxygen. The Zn loss is dependent to a large extent on the surface/volume ratio of the powder used in spray deposition. The influence of the spraying technique on the electromagnetic properties was also measured and compared to bulk ferrite materials. The air plasma sprayed coatings showed similar absorption coefficient compared to the bulk ferrite material at high frequencies (∼3 GHz).