Reciprocal space mapping using synchrotron-based x-ray diffraction has been used to study the effects of strain and strain relaxation in (111) oriented thin films of In2O3 on cubic Y-stabilized ZrO2 over a range of epilayer thicknesses between 35 and 420 nm. Maps around the epilayer (1026) reflection show that the 35-nm film is highly strained with a lateral periodicity close to that of the substrate, while the 420-nm film is almost completely relaxed. Analysis of the map for the former sample leads to an estimate of 0.31 for the Poisson ratio for In2O3. The mosaic spread deduced from transverse scans through the epilayer (444) and (666) reflections increases from 0.1° for the 35-nm-thick film to 0.3° for the 420-nm-thick film. These changes are discussed in relation to the morphological changes observed by atomic force microscopy.

High permittivity antimony-doped tin oxide (ATO)/polyimide (PI) composite films consisting of narrow size distribution ATO fillers prepared by inverse microemulsion method and PI host are synthesized by in situ polymerization. The microstructure and thermal stability of composite films are characterized by scanning electron microscopy and thermal gravimetric analyses, respectively. Dielectric properties of composite films with different concentrations of ATO particles of variable size are investigated in the frequency range of 102 to 2.5 × 106 Hz. The hydrophilic surface of ATO is not helpful of tight connection between the filler and host. The addition of ATO contributes slight increase of the thermal stability. However, the permittivity of composite films can be remarkably increased due to Maxwell–Wagner–Sillars polarization as well as a large number of tiny capacitors formed by ATO particles with narrow distribution and small size. The dielectric constant behavior of composite films fits well to the usual percolation theory.

A metal-supported solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) using Ce0.8Sm0.2O2 (Sm-doped ceria, SDC) buffer layer and La0.9Sr0.1Ga0.8Mg0.2O3 (LSGM) electrolyte films showed a small degradation in the cell performance after a long-term operation because of La migration from the electrolyte to the buffer layer, resulted in a formation of a less conductive phase. Thus, various ceramic materials such as doped ceria and perovskite-related oxides were investigated for an effective buffer layer with respect to fabricating reliable metal-supported SOFCs using a LSGM electrolyte film. In particular, La-doped CeO2 (LDC) and Pr-doped LaCrO3 (LPCr) were investigated as buffer layer material since the materials showed chemical compatibility with the LSGM and anode materials. The cell using a LDC buffer layer showed a prior stability during the operation for 100 h at 973 K, while the power density of the cell was slightly low owing to the low electrical conductivity of LDC compared with that of SDC or LPCr. In contrast, the cell using a LPCr buffer layer revealed significantly low open circuit voltage (OCV) and power density, which were attributed to Pr decomposition in the LPCr caused by the reactivity with water vapor. However, the metal-supported cell with a multilayer electrolyte film including LSGM/LPCr/SDC layers showed an almost theoretical OCV and reasonably high power density with no degradation after a long-term operation for 100 h at 973 K, suggesting that the LPCr layer effectively prevented La migration and the SDC layer led to avoid the Pr decomposition. Thus, a LPCr is an effective buffer layer material for reliable metal-supported SOFCs using a LSGM electrolyte thin film.

The temperature dependence of diffusion length, lifetime, and diffusivity of the free exciton is measured in a commercial ZnO-substrate as well as in an epitaxial ZnO quantum well using nm-spatially and ps-time-resolved cathodoluminescence spectroscopy. The characteristic temperature dependence of the exciton mobility gives information of the underlying excitonic scattering processes. Since excitons are neutral particles, scattering at ionized impurities should be not effective. On both samples, with decreasing temperature, the diffusion lengths, lifetimes, and diffusivity give rise to a monotonic increase of the excitonic mobility. Two different methods will be discussed and are used for determining the excitonic transport parameters. On the one hand, we are able to perform completely pulsed excitation experiments, and on the other hand, a combination of cw excitation and pulsed excitation in two independent measurements is used.

Seals are required for a functioning solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). These seals must function at high temperatures of 600–900 °C and in oxidizing and reducing environments of the fuels and air. Among the different type of seals, the metal–ceramic seals require significant attention, research, and development because the brittle nature of ceramics and glasses leads to fracture and loss of seal integrity and functionality. A novel concept of self-healing/self-repairable glass seals is proposed, developed, and used for making metal–glass–ceramic seals for application in SOFC for enhancing reliability and life. Glasses and glass–ceramics displaying self-healing behavior are investigated and used to fabricate seals. The performance of these seals under long-term exposure at higher temperatures coupled with thermal cycling is characterized. Self-repairability of these glass seals is also demonstrated by leak tests along with the long-term performance. An approach for studying the kinetics of crack healing in glasses and glass–ceramics responsible for self-repair is briefly described.

The proton conducting perovskite MZr1−xLnxO3−δHz ceramics are promising electrolytic membranes for fuel cell and water steam electrolyser applications. Simultaneous elastic/quasielastic and diffraction neutron studies were performed in a wide temperature range (25–1150 °C) on protonated Yb-modified BaZrO3 ceramics: dense (97% of theoretical density) and ultradense (99%) using the triple axis spectrometers. The results allowed us to determine: (i) the real content of bulk protonic species ∼1–5 10−3 mol/mol, (ii) the structural modifications caused by the proton doping, and (iii) the bulk proton dynamics. The quasielastic neutron scattering (QNS) results are discussed in the light of neutron diffraction, conductivity, Raman, thermogravimetric, and thermal expansion measurements. The highest bulk proton motion appears in the temperature range where the structural modifications and the energy activation changes are detected. This allows defining the optimum temperature range for the proton dynamics between 400 and 560 °C.

Controllable degradation of scaffolds plays an important role in tissue engineering applications. Here, we describe a biomimetic approach to control chitosan scaffold degradation by incorporating lysozyme-loaded poly(D,L-lactic-co-glycolic acid) microspheres in 3D chitosan scaffolds. In vitro degradation tests reveal that the degradation rate increased when the mass ratio of microspheres-to-chitosan increased whereas the contrast group showed a visible turning point at 28d. In vivo degradation rate was much faster than that in vitro, and the relationship between in vitro degradation and in vivo degradation was correlative. Finally, for determining the primary biocompatibility of the combined scaffolds, studies such as cytotoxicity assay, cell attachment study and histological evaluation were carried out. It is concluded that the combination method of enzyme and scaffold is suitable for chitosan scaffold degradation; it also demonstrates an alternative strategy for other biomaterials used in tissue engineering.

The transport properties of doped and undoped, high quality, plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy grown tin dioxide (SnO2) thin films are reviewed. Intentional doping can vary the SnO2 resistivity over more than seven orders of magnitude from a transparent conducting oxide-like conductivity up to the semi-insulating range. A region of high unintentional n-type conductivity was identified in the substrate interface region and had to be accounted for. Sb was a well-behaved shallow donor up to the regime of conducting oxides. In and Ga were too deep acceptors to achieve p-type conductivity but were suitable to render SnO2 semi-insulating. While the surface accumulation layer strongly influenced contact properties, its conductance was negligible. The methodology used here for studying the transport can also be applied to other semiconducting oxides.