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In Situ TEM and AFM for Investigation of Materials

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A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Advanced Materials Characterization".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2020) | Viewed by 16910

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Luciano Lamberti

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Guest Editor

Dipartimento di Meccanica, Matematica e Management, Politecnico di Bari, Viale Orabona 4, 70126 Bari, Italy
Interests: bioengineering and cell mechanics; nanosciences and nanotechnology; optical methods; materials science and characterization; structural optimization
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

It is my great pleasure to announce the Special Issue “In Situ TEM and AFM for Investigation of Materials”, which will appear in the Materials journal next year.

The investigation of materials is a very hot topic attracting great interest from the scientific community. The development of new materials and the use of “traditional” materials in more demanding applications must be supported by efficient investigation techniques. The main concern is to increase the measurement resolution getting down to a nanometer or sub-nanometer scale. Electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy are two well established techniques for the nanoscale investigation of materials.

This Special Issue will focus on the advances in the in situ investigations of materials with atomic force microscopy (AFM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The aim is to provide a forum on the state-of-the-art and frontier applications of AFM and TEM (including the development of new experimental setups) to material characterization and analysis for static and dynamic conditions. The submissions should be in the form of original research articles or authoritative review papers on the following topics (yet not limited to):

Atomic force microscopy and atomic force spectroscopy;
Transmission electron microscopy;
Novel AFM/AFS/TEM setups;
Hybrid methods and inverse methods;
Material characterization/analysis for static and dynamic conditions (including viscous response and plasticity);
Nanoscale measurements and nano-metrology (including the characterization of surface properties);
In situ applications for materials science;
In situ applications for bioengineering and biomechanics.

Prof. Luciano Lamberti
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

transmission electron microscopy
atomic force microscopy and spectroscopy
nanoscience and nanotechnology
static and dynamic analysis and characterization of materials
metrology and surface characterization
materials science
aerospace engineering
bioengineering and biomechanics

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Editorial

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3 pages, 153 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

In Situ TEM and AFM for Investigation of Materials

by Luciano Lamberti

Materials 2021, 14(9), 2140; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14092140 - 23 Apr 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1200

Abstract

Materials can be considered the backbone of all technological applications [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue In Situ TEM and AFM for Investigation of Materials)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

15 pages, 1027 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Visco-Hyperelastic Characterization of the Equine Immature Zona Pellucida

by Elisa Ficarella, Mohammad Minooei, Lorenzo Santoro, Elisabetta Toma, Bartolomeo Trentadue, Marco De Spirito, Massimiliano Papi, Catalin I. Pruncu and Luciano Lamberti

Materials 2021, 14(5), 1223; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14051223 - 5 Mar 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1723

Abstract

This article presents a very detailed study on the mechanical characterization of a highly nonlinear material, the immature equine zona pellucida (ZP) membrane. The ZP is modeled as a visco-hyperelastic soft matter. The Arruda–Boyce constitutive equation and the two-term Prony series are identified as the most suitable models for describing the hyperelastic and viscous components, respectively, of the ZP’s mechanical response. Material properties are identified via inverse analysis based on nonlinear optimization which fits nanoindentation curves recorded at different rates. The suitability of the proposed approach is fully demonstrated by the very good agreement between AFM data and numerically reconstructed force–indentation curves. A critical comparison of mechanical behavior of two immature ZP membranes (i.e., equine and porcine ZPs) is also carried out considering the information on the structure of these materials available from electron microscopy investigations documented in the literature. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue In Situ TEM and AFM for Investigation of Materials)

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18 pages, 12367 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Ultrasonic Deposition of Carbon Nanotubes on Polycrystalline Cubic Boron Nitride Composites

by Manuela Pacella, Sina Saremi-Yarahmadi and Luciano Lamberti

Materials 2021, 14(3), 516; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14030516 - 21 Jan 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2076

Abstract

Polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (PcBN) are super-hard materials with high hardness and excellent abrasive resistance, widely used in cutting tools for precision machining of automotive and aerospace parts; however, their brittle properties make them prone to premature failure. Coatings are often applied to PcBN to extend their range of applicability and durability. Conventional coating methods are limited to the thickness range of a few hundred nanometres, poor adhesion to the substrate, and limited stability under ambient conditions. To further the properties of PcBN composites, in this paper, we explore the use of ultrasonic bonding to apply thick coatings (30–80 μm) on PcBN cutting tools. For the first time, a multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) powder is preplaced on a PcBN substrate to allow an unconventional coating technique to take place. The effects of ultrasonic bonding parameters on the change of mechanical properties of the coated tools are investigated through scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), micro-hardness analyses, and white light interferometry. The structure of the carbon nanotubes is investigated through transmission electron microscopy (pre coating) and cross-section of the bonded MWCNTs is studied via focused ion beam milling and SEM to evaluate the bonding between the multi-walled nanotubes. Optimum processing windows (i.e., bonding speed, energy, and pressure) are discovered for coating MWCNTs on PcBN. Focus ion beam milling analyses revealed a relationship between consolidation parameters and porosity of MW(pCNT) bonds. The proposed method paves the way for the novel design of functional coatings with attunable properties (i.e., thickness and hardness) and therefore improved productivity in the machining of aerospace and automotive parts. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue In Situ TEM and AFM for Investigation of Materials)

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12 pages, 2124 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Ion Beam Etching on the Nanoscale Damage Precursor Evolution of Fused Silica

by Yaoyu Zhong, Yifan Dai, Feng Shi, Ci Song, Ye Tian, Zhifan Lin, Wanli Zhang and Yongxiang Shen

Materials 2020, 13(6), 1294; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13061294 - 13 Mar 2020

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2393

Abstract

Nanoscale laser damage precursors generated from fabrication have emerged as a new bottleneck that limits the laser damage resistance improvement of fused silica optics. In this paper, ion beam etching (IBE) technology is performed to investigate the evolutions of some nanoscale damage precursors (such as contamination and chemical structural defects) in different ion beam etched depths. Surface material structure analyses and laser damage resistance measurements are conducted. The results reveal that IBE has an evident cleaning effect on surfaces. Impurity contamination beneath the polishing redeposition layer can be mitigated through IBE. Chemical structural defects can be significantly reduced, and surface densification is weakened after IBE without damaging the precision of the fused silica surface. The photothermal absorption on the fused silica surface can be decreased by 41.2%, and the laser-induced damage threshold can be raised by 15.2% after IBE at 250 nm. This work serves as an important reference for characterizing nanoscale damage precursors and using IBE technology to increase the laser damage resistance of fused silica optics. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue In Situ TEM and AFM for Investigation of Materials)

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18 pages, 6908 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Multiscale Numerical and Experimental Analysis of Tribological Performance of GO Coating on Steel Substrates

by Robin Hildyard, Mahdi Mohammadpour, Sina Saremi-Yarahmadi and Manuela Pacella

Materials 2020, 13(1), 41; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13010041 - 20 Dec 2019

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2180

Abstract

Herein, nano-tribological behaviour of graphene oxide (GO) coatings is evaluated by a combination of nanoscale frictional performance and adhesion, as well as macroscale numerical modelling. A suite of characterisation techniques including atomic force microscopy (AFM) and optical interferometry are used to characterise the coatings at the asperity level. Numerical modelling is employed to consider the effectiveness of the coatings at the conjunction level. The macroscale numerical model reveals suitable deposition conditions for superior GO coatings, as confirmed by the lowest measured friction values. The proposed macroscale numerical model is developed considering both the surface shear strength of asperities of coatings obtained from AFM and the resultant morphology of the depositions obtained from surface measurements. Such a multi-scale approach, comprising numerical and experimental methods to investigate the tribological behaviour of GO tribological films has not been reported hitherto and can be applied to real-world macroscale applications such as the piston ring/cylinder liner conjunction within the modern internal combustion engine. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue In Situ TEM and AFM for Investigation of Materials)

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16 pages, 7508 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Determination of Displacement Fields at the Sub-Nanometric Scale

by Cesar A. Sciammarella, Federico M. Sciammarella and Luciano Lamberti

Materials 2019, 12(11), 1804; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12111804 - 3 Jun 2019

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2092

Abstract

Macroscopic behavior of materials depends on interactions of atoms and molecules at nanometer/sub-nanometer scale. Experimental mechanics (EM) can be used for assessing relationships between the macro world and the atomic realm. Theoretical models developed at nanometric and sub-nanometric scales may be verified using EM techniques with the final goal of deriving comprehensive but manageable models. Recently, the authors have carried out studies on EM determination of displacements and their derivatives at the macro and microscopic scales. Here, these techniques were applied to the analysis of high-resolution transmission electron microscopy patterns of a crystalline array containing dislocations. Utilizing atomic positions as carriers of information and comparing undeformed and deformed configurations of observed area, displacements and their derivatives, as well as stresses, have been obtained in the Eulerian description of deformed crystal. Two approaches are introduced. The first establishes an analogy between the basic crystalline structure and a 120° strain gage rosette. The other relies on the fact that, if displacement information along three directions is available, it is possible to reconstruct the displacement field; all necessary equations are provided in the paper. Remarkably, the validity of the Cauchy-Born conjecture is proven to be correct within the range of observed deformations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue In Situ TEM and AFM for Investigation of Materials)

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14 pages, 3956 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Reduction Temperature-Dependent Nanoscale Morphological Transformation and Electrical Conductivity of Silicate Glass Microchannel Plate

by Hua Cai, Yong Sun, Xian Zhang, Lei Zhang, Hui Liu, Qing Li, Tiezhu Bo, Dongzhan Zhou, Chen Wang and Jiao Lian

Materials 2019, 12(7), 1183; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12071183 - 11 Apr 2019

Cited by 24 | Viewed by 4547

Abstract

Lead silicate glasses are fundamental materials to a microchannel plate (MCP), which is a two dimensional array of a microscopic channel charge particle multiplier. Hydrogen reduction is the core stage to determine the electrical conductivity of lead silicate glass MCP multipliers. The nanoscale morphologies and microscopic potential distributions of silicate glass at different reduction temperatures were investigated via atomic force microscope (AFM) and Kelvin force microscopy (KFM). We found that the bulk resistance of MCPs ballooned exponentially with the spacing of conducting islands. Moreover, bulk resistance and the spacing of conducting islands both have the BiDoseResp trend dependence on the hydrogen reduction temperature. Elements composition and valence states of lead silicate glass were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results indicated that the conducting island was an assemblage of the Pb atom originated from the reduction of Pb²⁺ and Pb⁴⁺. Thus, this showed the important influence of the hydrogen temperature and nanoscale morphological transformation on modulating the physical effects of MCPs, and opened up new possibilities to characterize the nanoscale electronic performance of multiphase silicate glass. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue In Situ TEM and AFM for Investigation of Materials)

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