SAXS/DSC/WAXD study of temperature evolution in nanocomposite polymer electrolytes with different nanofillers.

Polymer electrolytes are nanostructured materials which are very attractive components for batteries and opto-electronic devices. (PEO)8ZnCl2 polymer electrolytes were prepared from PEO and ZnCl2. The nanocomposites (PEO)8ZnCI2 themselves contained TiO2, Al2O3, MgO, ZnO and V2O5 nanograins. In this work, the influence of the Al2O3, MgO and V2O5 nanograins on the morphology and ionic conductivity of the nanocomposite was systematically studied by transmission small-angle X-ray scattering simultaneously recorded with wide-angle X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry at the synchrotron ELETTRA (Trieste, Italy). These three measurement methods yielded insight into the temperature-dependent changes of the grains of the electrolyte. The heating and cooling rate was 0.5 degrees C/min. Environment friendly galvanic cells as well as solar cells of the second generation are to be constructed with such nanocomposite polymer as electrolyte.

Nano Si superlattices for the next generation solar cells.

We present a study on amorphous SiO/SiO2 superlattice formation on Si substrate held at room temperature and annealed in the temperature range 600-1100 degrees C. Grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS) and X-ray reflectivity were used to study such samples. Amorphous SiO/SiO2 superlattices were prepared by high vacuum physical vapor deposition of 4 nm thin films of SiO and SiO2 (10 layers each) from corresponding targets on silicon substrate. Rotation of the Si substrate during evaporation ensured homogeneity of the films over the whole substrate. We observed that the inhomogeneities introduced into the SiO and SiO2 layers during the deposition (evaporation) give rise to small angle scattering at lower annealing temperatures. After an initial SiO layer thickness reduction for 600 degrees C annealing, these thicknesses remain virtually unchanged up to 1000 degrees C, where they start to decrease again which leads to particle formation. Nevertheless, this compacting at low temperatures may lead to the seed formation in SiO layers that will facilitate later Si nanoparticles growth.

The influence of deposition temperature on the correlation of Ge quantum dot positions in amorphous silica matrix.

We studied the structural properties of (Ge+SiO2)/SiO2 multilayer films, especially the influence of the deposition temperature and the parameters of subsequent annealing on the formation and spatial correlation of Ge quantum dots in an amorphous silica matrix. We showed that in-layer and inter-layer spatial correlations of the formed Ge quantum dots strongly depend on the deposition temperature. For suitable chosen deposition parameters, highly correlated dot positions in all three dimensions can be obtained. It is demonstrated that the degree of the spatial correlation of quantum dots influences the size distribution width, which further affects the macroscopic properties of the quantum dot arrays.

GISAXS view of vanadium/cerium oxide thin films and influence of lithium intercalation.

An examination of structural modifications, induced by mixing vanadium and cerium oxides and by the introduction of lithium in vanadium and mixed vanadium/cerium oxide films, was performed using synchrotron sourced grazing incidence small-angle X-ray scattering. Samples were sol-gel-derived films, deposited by a dip-coating technique. An analysis of the scattering data, acquired by a two-dimensional detection system, is based on the comparison of the surface and bulk characteristics of the film. The trend of estimated structural modifications is supported by the results of previous investigations on a different length scale, performed by atomic force microscopy.

Synchrotron light scattering on nanostructured V/Ce oxide films intercalated with Li+ ions.

Vanadium oxide and new V/Ce oxide films on a glass substrate were obtained by the sol-gel process. The morphology of these nanostructured and porous films was studied by grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS) at the ELETTRA synchrotron (Italy, Trieste). The aim of performing GISAXS was to study changes, which might occur in the grain sizes and the porosity of vanadium oxide and V/Ce oxide at 38 and 55 atom % of V, upon the intercalation of Li+ ions. The average grain radius obtained by GISAXS varied with the layer thickness and upon the intercalation of Li+ ions. The layer structure in V/Ce oxides was revealed by the grazing-incidence X-ray reflectivity (GIXR) method. The average grain radius , obtained by GISAXS, was correlated with the intercalation of Li+ ions. The specific surface area of these films was also determined and generally varied from 0.5 nm(-1) to 0.03 nm(-1).