Chemistry Commons^™

Hybrid Quantum And Molecular Mechanics Embedded Cluster Models For Chemistry On Silicon And Silicon Carbide Surfaces, James R. Shoemaker

Theses and Dissertations

Fabrication of silicon carbide SiC semiconductor devices are of interest for aerospace applications because of their high-temperature tolerance. Growth of an insulating SiO₂ layer on SiC is a poorly understood process, and sometimes produces interface defects that degrade device performance. Accurate theoretical models of surface chemistry, using quantum mechanics QM, do not exist because of the huge computational cost of solving Schroedingers equation for a molecular cluster large enough to represent a surface. Molecular mechanics MM, which describes a molecule as a collection of atoms interacting through classical potentials, is a fast computational method, good at predicting molecular structure, …

Computer Modeling Of Molecular Vibration Frequencies And Its Application To The Modeling Of Silane Compounds, Ryan T. Merrell

Honors Capstone Projects and Theses

No abstract provided.

Microstructural Characterization Of An Ultra-High-Performance Polyimide, April Heather Baugher

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The motivation for this study was to further characterize a relatively new high-temperature polymer for application as a matrix resin for carbon fiber composites. The two primary questions addressed in this study dealt with the structural and chemical changes occurring in these polymers on exposure to high temperature.;To investigate the structural changes in the heat-treated samples, a positron annihilation lifetime spectrometer was designed, built and optimized. Because the lifetime of a positron in a material reflects the electronic structure of the material in which it annihilates, measurements by positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy can be used to investigate changes in a …

Characterization Of Iron Oxides And Atmospheric Corrosion Of Steel, Sei Jin Oh

Physics Theses & Dissertations

The study of corrosion behavior was performed using three different analytical techniques, which provided information on the formation, development and layering of iron oxides on the corrosion products as a function of atmospheric conditions, exposure time and type of steel. In particular, the protective layer formed on weathering steel was investigated as a function of different amounts of alloying elements in the steel, atmospheric conditions and exposure times. Combined together, the results provided a better understanding of the atmospheric corrosion behavior of steel, and formed a part of database of the atmospheric corrosion characteristics.

Accurate characterization of the iron oxides …