This article discusses capillary forces measured by scanning force microscopy ͑SFM͒, which, as recently reported, show a discontinuous behavior at a low relative humidity between 20% and 40% depending on the solid surfaces. A capillary force discontinuity is very interesting in terms of a possible phase change or restructuring transition of bulk water in the interfacial solid-liquid region. Unfortunately, we have found that SFM measurements show an inherent weakness in the determination of the origin of the forces that are obtained during pull-off measurements. This article critically discusses the origin of the adhesive interactions as a function of relative humidity with chemically modified probing surfaces. Our measurements indicate that force discontinuities in pull-off measurements are strongly affected by the inability of the liquid to form capillary necks below a critical threshold in relative humidity. In the course of this article, we will discuss roughness effects on capillary forces and provide a modified capillary force equation for asperity nanocontacts.
Nuclear energy production is growing rapidly worldwide to satisfy increasing energy demands. Reprocessing of used nuclear fuel (UNF) is expected to play an important role for sustainable development of nuclear energy by increasing the energy extracted from the fuel and reducing the generation of the high level waste (HLW). However, during the reprocessing of Used Nuclear Fuel (UNF) gaseous radioactive nuclides including iodine, krypton, xenon, carbon, and tritium are released into the atmosphere through off-gas streams.The volatile iodine ( 129 I), and krypton ( 85 Kr) gases have long lived-isotopes; which have adverse effects on the environment as well as human health. Consequently, the capture of these two target radionuclides (species) is essential for the enhanced growth of nuclear energy. In this review we discuss several techniques for capture of volatile contaminants iodine, krypton, and xenon, focusing upon adsorption using solid sorbents, which has shown promising results for more than 70 years. Commonly used and recently developed sorbents are summarized in this article along with a short review of the results. Metal-organicframeworks (MOFs), gaining favor in recent years as sorbents for the capture of off-gas contaminants are also discussed. Finally, some considerations of future trends and prospects for investigations of the capture of volatile radionuclides are presented.
Nanomechanical bending behavior and elastic modulus of silver nanowires (65–140nm∅) suspended across silicon microchannels were investigated using digital pulsed force mode (DPFM) atomic force microscopy through coincident imaging and force profiling. Deflection profiles analyzed off-line demonstrate the role of bending nanowire shape and symmetry in experimentally determining boundary conditions, eliminating the need to rely on isolated midpoint bending measurements and the usual assumptions for supported-end behavior. Elastic moduli for as-prepared silver nanowires ranged from 80.4±5.3to96.4±12.8GPa, which met or exceeded the literature values for bulk silver. The calculated moduli were based on classic modeling, both with one-dimensional analytical solutions and three-dimensional finite element analysis. Modeling results indicate that the classic models are accurate as long as the boundary conditions are not arbitrarily assumed but directly confirmed by data analysis. DPFM also facilitated the experimental determination of sample gauge lengths from images and bending profiles.
Nanosprings are a new form of nanowires that have potential applications in
nanoelectronics, nanomechanics, and nanoelectromechanical systems. In this review we will
examine the growth mechanism of these novel nanostructures. The synthesis of nanowires
by the vapour–liquid–solid growth mechanism, first proposed by Wagner and Ellis, will be
explored and then extended to the development of a model to explain the formation of
nanosprings.
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