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Metal-containing tetrahedral amorphous carbon films were produced by dual filtered cathodic vacuum arc plasma sources operated in sequentially pulsed mode.Negatively pulsed bias was applied to the substrate when carbon plasma was generated, whereas it was absent when the molybdenum plasma was present. Film thickness was measured after deposition by profilometry. Glass slides with silver pads were used as substrates for the measurement of the sheet resistance. The microstructure and composition of the films were characterized by Raman spectroscopy and Rutherford backscattering, respectively. It was found that the electrical resistivity decreases with an increase of the Mo content, which can be ascribed to an increase of the sp 2 content and an increase of the sp 2 cluster size.

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Sawdust is a waste from furnitureindustry which is mostly left in the garbage or burn for landfill in hugequantities every year. Efforts to find utilization of this material haveresulted mostly in low value. However, sawdust waste can be considered as analternative to fabricate fiber reinforced polymer composites for furniturefunction. This study was undertaken to determine the physical and mechanicalproperties of wood plastic composites, which were made under laboratoryconditions by hot pressing of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) with teakwoodsawdust as filler. Seven levels of mixed flour, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 and 70%,based on the composition by weight was added to the HDPE powder with palm oilas coupling agent. A flat pressing technology, the simplest method for capableof large dimension wood plastic panel production, was used to manufacturetesting specimens in dimensions 5.8 x 7.3 cm2. Investigation of themechanical property of the composites material, according to the Americansociety for testing and materials (ASTM) method, was done by impact strengthtester. The measurement results were found that impact strength was decreased uponthe increasing of the sawdust up to 30 % mixing then gradually increased. However,by increasing mixed flour content, water resistance of the panels wasnegatively influenced. The best appearance of composites material in comparisonwith the natural woods was ~30% sawdust powder mixing. The woodplastic panels were utilized for construction of a Thai spirithouse as an outdoor decoration.

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The color of blue sapphire has long been explained using the intervalence charge‐transfer (IVCT) [Fe2+‐Ti4+ and/or Fe2+‐Fe3+] theory, in which the blue can be reduced by thermal (heat) treatment in oxidizing condition to alter Fe2+ (FeO) to Fe3+ (Fe2O3). However, the color mechanism is not well understood. Recently, the band gap theory proposes that iron (Fe) in sapphire always presents as Fe3+, and the blue is caused by Fe3+‐Ti4+ pair, hence thermal treatment does not alter Fe oxidation. The UV–Vis–NIR, Proton‐Induced X‐ray Emission (PIXE), and X‐ray Absorption Near‐Edge Structure (XANES) techniques are carried out before and after treatment to prove this issue. The absorption spectra are slightly lower after treatment, corresponding with the reduction of blue color in all samples. XANES data reveal mixture of Fe2+ and Fe3+ (mainly Fe3+) in all samples, and show insignificantly change after heated which rather supports the band gap theory. However, calculation based on linear combination fitting (LCF) technique shows a slight change in the oxidation from Fe2+ to Fe3+ which rather supports the IVCT theory. It is noted that the highest change is found in the lowest ratio of Fe:Ti sample, while the lowest change is conversely.