Past exam of the MPhil in micro- and nanotechnology enterprise course of the University of Cambridge 2019 Paper 1 Section B 12 v a Solution by
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Past exam of the MPhil in micro- and nanotechnology enterprise course of the University of Cambridge 2019 Paper 1 Section B 10 iv c Solution by
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A formula-unit concentration of fully dissociated gives trivalent cations and chloride:At unchanged temperature and permittivity, the Debye–Hückel screening length scales as , giving . It falls by a factor , not by three. This is a formal screening estimate: at this ionic strength, trivalent-ion activity, finite ion size, hydrolysis and specific adsorption make the ideal dilute model quantitatively limited.
Past exam of the MPhil in micro- and nanotechnology enterprise course of the University of Cambridge 2019 Paper 1 Section B 10 iv b Solution by
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For an ideal dilute electrolyte with molar ionic strength , measured in , the Debye–Hückel screening length isTaking water's relative permittivity as approximately at , for NaCl. Therefore . This is an exponential screening length, not a hard outer edge of the diffuse layer. The factor of converts molarity into .
Past exam of the MPhil in micro- and nanotechnology enterprise course of the University of Cambridge 2019 Paper 1 Section B 10 iv a Solution by
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The change from a positive surface potential to a negative potential outside the compact layer is consistent with specific phosphate adsorption that overcompensates the positive oxide charge. The negative compact-layer charge then has a diffuse excess of positive counterions. This charge reversal is an interfacial-chemistry interpretation, not something a single monotone double-layer profile with an unchanged positive boundary charge could generate by screening alone. Surface potential and zeta potential at a slip plane are distinct observables.
The Stern model separates the specifically adsorbed compact layer from a diffuse layer. In a spherical diffuse layer, a Poisson-Boltzmann equation description isAt sufficiently small , the Debye–Hückel approximation gives . If is the outer compact-layer radius, its decaying solution isFor a locally flat surface, the geometric factor tends to unity. Thus the far-field negative potential approaches zero from below over the Debye–Hückel screening length. Neither nor is safely in the low-potential linear regime at room temperature, so the simple exponential is a far-field approximation, not a globally valid fit. The phosphate layer requires adsorption chemistry or an equivalent specified boundary model.
Original illustrative compact-layer charge reversal followed by a negative screened far-field potential
. Details. Past exam of the MPhil in micro- and nanotechnology enterprise course of the University of Cambridge 2019 Paper 1 Section B 10 i c Solution by
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A Pickering emulsion is stabilized by particles adsorbed at the liquid–liquid interface. A partially wetting sphere removes a patch of that interface. The smaller detachment barrier into either bulk phase is approximatelywhere is the three-phase contact angle. At approximately neutral wetting, , the stated particle radius givesat . Such a large attachment energy makes thermal detachment unlikely. A sufficiently covered interface resists drop coalescence, and a water-wet particle preference supports an oil-in-water dispersion. However, radius alone does not guarantee stabilization: completely water-wet or oil-wet particles have a vanishing attachment barrier in this model, and sufficient particle coverage is necessary. Sedimentation and droplet ripening are separate failure modes. The classical particle-stabilized-emulsion experiments provide the historical basis of the terminology.[ref]
CXCVI.—Emulsions by Spencer Umfreville Pickering. Journal of the Chemical Society, Transactions 91 (1907), pp. 2001–2021
Past exam of the MPhil in micro- and nanotechnology enterprise course of the University of Cambridge 2019 Paper 1 Section B 10 i b Solution by
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An amphiphile adsorbs at the oil–water interface, reducing the interfacial tension. At fixed drop radius and oil volume, therefore falls with increasing concentration and tends toward a plateau once the interface is nearly saturated and further amphiphile mostly enters micelles. For an approximately ideal dilute nonionic surfactant, the Gibbs adsorption equation connects the fall in interfacial tension to positive surface excess . Ionic systems require the appropriate counterion activities.
The critical micelle concentration gives the familiar break in a tension-versus-log-concentration curve, rather than a fall to zero interfacial energy. If mixing creates a different droplet size distribution as amphiphile is added, area also changes; a tension reduction alone does not determine the total interfacial energy. The plotted prediction holds area fixed.
Past exam of the MPhil in micro- and nanotechnology enterprise course of the University of Cambridge 2019 Paper 1 Section B 10 i a Solution by
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For identical spherical drops, total oil volume and interfacial area satisfyTaking to mean the oil fraction of the final emulsion, gives . Thus and . This corresponds to about drops.
There is a wording convention worth making explicit: if the oil addition instead means times the initial water volume, then , and . These differ only in the stated volume-fraction convention. The calculation uses the oil–water interface and neglects the container and air interfaces.
Past exam of the MPhil in micro- and nanotechnology enterprise course of the University of Cambridge 2019 Paper 1 Section A(iii) 6 i c Solution by
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Iron is the negative anode and tin is the positive cathode of this spontaneous galvanic cell. electrons travel through the external circuit from iron to tin. An intact tin coating protects iron mainly by physically excluding the corrosive medium. If a defect exposes iron while the metals remain electrically connected, tin is not a sacrificial coating: the exposed iron can become the anodic corrosion site. A small exposed iron area coupled to a large cathodic tin area can be especially damaging; this distinction follows from the electrode-potential order rather than the appearance of the coating.
Past exam of the MPhil in micro- and nanotechnology enterprise course of the University of Cambridge 2019 Paper 1 Section A(iii) 6 i a Solution by
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Conventional semiconductor scanning capacitance microscopy is not a reliable dopant-contrast image of this specimen as drawn. Its usual signal relies on a tip–insulator–semiconductor capacitance whose depletion region changes under AC bias. An isolated conducting graphene sheet on thick insulating glass provides neither that conventional depletion geometry nor a controlled charge reservoir; simply earthing glass does not supply one. Capacitive or electrostatic contrast may be detectable with a suitably designed back electrode, a contacted flake and an appropriate capacitance-sensitive instrument, but that is an additional electrical device specification. Force-based surface topography remains possible independently of the specialized capacitance channel.
Past exam of the MPhil in micro- and nanotechnology enterprise course of the University of Cambridge 2019 Paper 1 Section A(i) 1 iii c Solution by
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friction force microscopy is suitable. Contact scanning twists the AFM cantilever; the lateral photodetector difference measures friction and can distinguish the supported graphene and glass even if their heights are close. Acquire both trace and retrace and use half their lateral-signal difference to suppress slope-induced cross-talk. Keep the normal load low enough to avoid dragging or damaging the flake, control humidity and contamination, and calibrate torsional sensitivity if a quantitative coefficient of friction is required. An electrical connection is unnecessary.
Past exam of the MPhil in micro- and nanotechnology enterprise course of the University of Cambridge 2019 Paper 1 Section A(i) 1 iii b Solution by
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quantitative nanomechanical mapping can image the flake without an electrical return path. Repeated AFM force curves provide surface topography, adhesion and deformation or effective elastic modulus channels. The step and differences in tip–surface interaction can distinguish graphene from glass. For an atomically thin supported sheet the contact response is strongly substrate dependent, so fitting a three-dimensional half-space contact model does not directly measure the intrinsic in-plane Young's modulus of free graphene. Calibrate the cantilever spring constant, deflection sensitivity and tip radius, use small loads, and compare bare substrate. The manufacturer's description specifies the force-curve origin of the mechanical channels.[ref]
Simultaneous Electrical and Mechanical Property Mapping at the Nanoscale with PeakForce TUNA by Bruker. application note 132, Quantitative Mechanical Property Mapping
Past exam of the MPhil in micro- and nanotechnology enterprise course of the University of Cambridge 2019 Paper 1 Section A(i) 1 iii a Solution by
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A steady-current image is not supported by the electrical connection drawn. tunnelling atomic force microscopy requires a conducting AFM probe, an applied bias voltage and a continuous return path from the contacted region to the current amplifier. graphene is conducting, but a flake on insulating glass is not electrically grounded merely because the other side or edge of the glass is earthed. Charging transients or displacement current are not its steady conductivity. Add a metal contact actually touching the graphene before using its current contrast; ordinary force-based surface topography can still be recorded without that contact. The manufacturer's nanostructure measurements explicitly distinguish objects connected to conducting pads from unconnected particles on the same insulating substrate.[ref]
Simultaneous Electrical and Mechanical Property Mapping at the Nanoscale with PeakForce TUNA by Bruker. application note 132, Figure 11 and accompanying discussion of electrical connection
Past exam of the MPhil in micro- and nanotechnology enterprise course of the University of Cambridge 2018 Paper 2 Section A(iii) 15 iii d Solution by
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