Stabilizing effects of Ag doping on structure and thermal stability of FeN thin films

In this work, we investigated the effect of Ag doping (2-20 at.%) on the phase formation of iron mononitride (FeN) thin films. Together with deposition of FeN using reactive dc magnetron sputtering, Ag was also co-sputtered at various doping levels between 2-20 at.%. We found that doping of Ag around 5 at.% is optimum to not only improve the thermal stability of FeN but also to reduce intrinsic defects that are invariably present in (even in epitaxial) FeN. Conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy and N K-edge x-ray near edge absorption measurements clearly reveal a reduction of defects in Ag doped FeN samples. Moreover, Fe self-diffusion measurements carried out using secondary ion mass spectroscopy depth-profiling and polarized neutron reflectivity in 57Fe enriched samples exhibit an appreciable reduction in Fe self-diffusion in Ag doped FeN samples. Ag being immiscible with Fe and non-reactive with N, occupies grain-boundary positions as nanoparticles and prohibits the fast Fe self-diffusion in FeN.

Large Scale Membrane Movement Induced by a Cation Switch

<p></p><p>A biomembrane sample system where millimolar changes of cations induce reversible large scale (≥ 200 Å) changes in the membrane-to-surface distance is described. The system composes of a free-floating bilayer (FFB), formed adjacent to a self-assembled monolayer (SAM). To examine the membrane movements, differently charged FFBs in the presence and absence of Ca2+ and Na+, respectively, were examined using neutron reflectivity (NR) and quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) measurements, alongside molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. In NR the variation of Ca2+ and Na+ concentration enabled precision manipulation of the FFB-to-surface distance. Simulations suggest that Ca2+ ions bridge between SAM and bilayer whereas the more diffuse binding of Na+, especially to bilayers, is unable to fully overcome the repulsion between anionic FFB and anionic SAM. Reproduced NR results with QCM demonstrate the potential of this easily producible sample system to become a standard analysis tool for e.g. investigating membrane binding effects, endocytosis and cell signalling.<br></p><p></p>

Large Scale Membrane Movement Induced by a Cation Switch

<p>A biomembrane sample system where millimolar changes of cations induce reversible large scale (≥ 200 Å) changes in the membrane-to-surface distance is described. The system composes of a free-floating bilayer (FFB), formed adjacent to a self-assembled monolayer (SAM). To examine the membrane movements, differently charged FFBs in the presence and absence of Ca²⁺ and Na⁺, respectively, were examined using neutron reflectivity (NR) and quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) measurements, alongside molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. In NR the variation of Ca²⁺ and Na⁺ concentration enabled precision manipulation of the FFB-to-surface distance. Simulations suggest that Ca²⁺ ions bridge between SAM and bilayer whereas the more diffuse binding of Na⁺, especially to bilayers, is unable to fully overcome the repulsion between anionic FFB and anionic SAM. Reproduced NR results with QCM demonstrate the potential of this easily producible sample system to become a standard analysis tool for e.g. investigating membrane binding effects, endocytosis and cell signalling.<br></p>

Large Scale Membrane Movement Induced by a Cation Switch

<p>A biomembrane sample system where millimolar changes of cations induce reversible large scale (≥ 200 Å) changes in the membrane-to-surface distance is described. The system composes of a free-floating bilayer (FFB), formed adjacent to a self-assembled monolayer (SAM). To examine the membrane movements, differently charged FFBs in the presence and absence of Ca²⁺ and Na⁺, respectively, were examined using neutron reflectivity (NR) and quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) measurements, alongside molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. In NR the variation of Ca²⁺ and Na⁺ concentration enabled precision manipulation of the FFB-to-surface distance. Simulations suggest that Ca²⁺ ions bridge between SAM and bilayer whereas the more diffuse binding of Na⁺, especially to bilayers, is unable to fully overcome the repulsion between anionic FFB and anionic SAM. Reproduced NR results with QCM demonstrate the potential of this easily producible sample system to become a standard analysis tool for e.g. investigating membrane binding effects, endocytosis and cell signalling.<br></p>