Absorption of octadecanethiol and p-nitrobenzenethiol onto gold surfaces from ethanol solutions has been studied by means of contact angle, optical ellipsometry, angle-resolved XPS (ARXPS), and with grazing angle total reflection FTIR. Growth of the monolayers from dilute solutions has been monitored and Langmuir isotherm adsorption curves were fitted to experimental data. A saturated film is formed within approximately 5h after immersion in solutions of concentrations ranging from 0.0005mM to 0.01mM. We found, that the final density of monolayer depends on the concentration of the solution.

Methylsilsesquioxane (MSQ) and organosilicate glass (OSG) are the materials under this study because they exhibit the dielectric constant values necessary for future IC technology requirements. Obtaining a low-k dielectric value is critical for the IC industry in order to cope time delay and cross talking issues. These materials exhibit attractive dielectric value, but there are problems replacing conventional SiO2, because of their chemical, mechanical and electrical instability after plasma processing. Several techniques have been suggested to mitigate process damage but supercritical silylation offers a rapid single repair step solution to this problem. Different ash and etch damaged samples were employed in this study to optimize an effective method to repair the low-k dielectric material and seal the surface pores via supercritical fluid processing with various trialkylchlorosilanes. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), contact angle, capacitance- voltage measurements, and x-ray photoemission spectroscopy, dynamic secondary ion mass spectroscopy (DSIMS), characterized the films. The hydrophobicity and dielectric constant after exposure to elevated temperatures and ambient conditions were monitored and shown to be stable. The samples were treated with a series of silylating agents of the form R3-Si-Cl where R is an alkyl groups (e.g. ethyl, propyl, isopropyl). Reactivity with the surface hydroxyls was inversely …

The current study focuses on improving the wear resistance of femoral head component and enhancing the osseo-integration properties of femoral stem component of a hip implant made of a new generation low modulus alloy, Ti-35Nb-7Zr-5Ta or TNZT. Different techniques that were adopted to improve the wear resistance of low-modulus TNZT alloy included; (a) fabrication of graded TNZT-xB (x= 0, 1, 2 wt%) samples using LENS, (b) oxidation, and (c) LASER nitriding of TNZT. TNZT-1B and TNZT-O samples have shown improved wear resistance when tested against UHMWPE ball in SBF medium. A new class of bio-ceramic coatings based on calcium phosphate (CaP), was applied on the TNZT sample surface and was further laser processed with the objective of enhancing their osseo-integration properties. With optimized LASER parameters, TNZT-CaP samples have shown improved corrosion resistance, surface wettability and cellular response when compared to the base TNZT sample.

Building waste and disposable packaging are a major component in today's landfills. Most of these are structural or thermally insulative polymer foams that do not degrade over a long period of time. Currently, there is a push to replace these foams with thermoplastic or biodegradable foams that can either be recycled or composted. We propose the use of compostable soy-based polyurethane foams (PU) with kenaf core modifiers that will offer the desired properties with the ability to choose responsible end-of-life decisions. The effect of fillers is a critical parameter in investigating the thermal and mechanical properties along with its effect on biodegradability. In this work, foams with 5%, 10%, and 15% kenaf core content were created. Two manufacturing approaches were used: the free foaming used by spray techniques and the constrained expansion complementary to a mold cavity. Structure-property relations were examined using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), thermal conductivity, compression values, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), x-ray micro-computed tomography (micro-CT), and automated multiunit composting system (AMCS). The results show that mechanical properties are reduced with the introduction of kenaf core reinforcement while thermal conductivity and biodegradability display a noticeable improvement. This shows that in application properties can be …

Dan Beaty (1937-2002) was a prolific composer, pianist, researcher, educator, and writer. His large compositional output included chamber works, choral works, songs, orchestral pieces, electronic music, and keyboard works. Beaty was well versed in traditional Western music as well as the more avant-garde and perplexing idioms of the twentieth century. Beaty's compositions reflect the many fascinating, if not always popular, musical trends of his time. His music encompasses styles from serial to jazz, shows compositional influences from Arnold Schoenberg to Indonesian music, and demonstrates thought-provoking and highly intellectual craftsmanship. This document explores several of Beaty's songs through a discussion of the composer's life and compositional process. Songs included in this document are Three Weeks Songs, October, November, A Sappho Lyric, Love Song, That Night When Joy Began, and War Lyrics. This document was written to accompany the author's DMA Lecture-Recital at the University of North Texas. Unfortunately, Beaty's vocal music was never published and is mostly unknown. One goal of the project was to initiate interest in Beaty's songs. Through this document, Lecture-Recital, and additional performances, considerable strides have been made to bring Beaty's songs to new audiences throughout the United States. In addition, the author has received permission from …

Geckos can freely climb on walls and ceilings against their body weight at speed of over 1ms-1. Switching between attachment and detachment seem simple and easy for geckos, without considering the surface to be dry or wet, smooth or rough, dirty or clean. In addition, gecko can shed dirt particles during use, keeping the adhesive pads clean. Mimicking this biological system can lead to a new class of dry adhesives for various applications. However, gecko’s unique dry self-cleaning mechanism remains unknown, which impedes the development of self-cleaning dry adhesives. In this dissertation we provide new evidence and self-cleaning mechanism to explain how gecko shed particles and keep its sticky feet clean. First we studied the dynamic enhancement observed between micro-sized particles and substrate under dry and wet conditions. The adhesion force of soft (polystyrene) and hard (SiO2 and Al2O3) micro-particles on soft (polystyrene) and hard (fused silica and sapphire) substrates was measured using an atomic force microscope (AFM) with retraction (z-piezo) speed ranging over 4 orders of magnitude. The adhesion is strongly enhanced by the dynamic effect. When the retraction speeds varies from 0.02 µm/s to 156 µm/s, the adhesion force increases by 10% ~ 50% in dry nitrogen while …

In this work, we have explored 2D semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), black phosphorus (BP), and graphene for various applications using liquid and mechanical exfoliation routes. The topical areas of interest that motivate our work include considering factors such as device integration, stability, doping, and the effect of gasses to modulate the electronic transport characteristics of the underlying 2D materials. In the first area, we have integrated solution-processed transparent conducting oxides (TCOs), specifically indium-doped tin oxide (ITO) with BP, which is a commonly used TCO for solar cell devices. Here we have found surface treatment of glass substrates with a plasma before spin-coating the solution-processed ITO, to be effective in improving coverage and uniformity of the ITO film by promoting wettability and film adhesion. The maximum transmittance obtained was measured to be ~75% in the visible region, while electrical measurements made on BP/ITO heterostructures showed improved transport characteristics compared to the bare ITO film. Within the integration realm, inkjet-printing of BP and MoS2 p-n hetero-junctions on standard ITO glass substrates in a vertical architecture was also demonstrated. To address the issue of stability which some 2D materials such as BP face, we experimented with ionic liquids (ILs) to passivation the …

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) are attractive reinforcements for lightweight and high strength metal matrix composites due to their excellent mechanical and physical properties. The present work is an attempt towards investigating the effect of CNT and GNP reinforcements on the mechanical properties of nickel matrix composites. The CNT/Ni (dry milled) nanocomposites exhibiting a tensile yield strength of 350 MPa (about two times that of SPS processed monolithic nickel ~ 160 MPa) and an elongation to failure ~ 30%. In contrast, CNT/Ni (molecular level mixed) exhibited substantially higher tensile yield strength (~ 690 MPa) but limited ductility with an elongation to failure ~ 8%. The Ni-1vol%GNP (dry milled) nanocomposite exhibited the best balance of properties in terms of strength and ductility. The enhancement in the tensile strength (i.e. 370 MPa) and substantial ductility (~40%) of Ni-1vol%GNP nanocomposites was achieved due to the combined effects of grain refinement, homogeneous dispersion of GNPs in the nickel matrix, and well-bonded Ni-GNP interface, which effectively transfers stress across metal-GNP interface during tensile deformation. A second emphasis of this work was on the detailed 3D microstructural characterization of a new class of Ni-Ti-C based metal matrix composites, developed using the laser engineered net …