Search NASA⌕ Search

Engineering topics

Fuentes-Cobas, L.

Publications and source records attributed to Fuentes-Cobas, L..

6 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2015

Characterization of gypsum crystals exposed to a high CO{sub 2} concentration fog using x-ray

In Chihuahua State, a little town called Naica has the largest gypsum single crystals in the world. The growth of these structures has been described as a long and stable process developed over thousands of years. Due to the change in the environmental conditions, these crystals could suffer alterations on their surface. In this project we study the cause of possible deterioration of the giant crystals and intend to suggest measures for their preservation. For this sake, our first experiment consists on several gypsum crystals that have been subjected in a climate chamber to a fog at high CO{sub 2} concentration and 51 °C for a period of time of six months, extracting two crystals every 15 days. Then the crystals have been characterized through Grazing Incidence X-Ray Diffraction using a diffractometer PanAlytical X’PertPro with two different detectors; Xe-filled proportional detector and a Pixel 3D detector. The results were compared to determine which technique is the most suitable to study the degradation of gypsum single crystals. In the two cases, we have identified only the gypsum phase, but with different crystal plane orientations.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Microstructural, chemical and textural characterization of ZnO nanorods synthesized by aerosol assisted chemical vapor deposition

ZnO nanorods were synthesized by aerosol assisted chemical vapor deposition onto TiO{sub 2} covered borosilicate glass substrates. Deposition parameters were optimized and kept constant. Solely the effect of different nozzle velocities on the growth of ZnO nanorods was evaluated in order to develop a dense and uniform structure. The crystalline structure was characterized by conventional X-ray diffraction in grazing incidence and Bragg–Brentano configurations. In addition, two-dimensional grazing incidence synchrotron radiation diffraction was employed to determine the preferred growth direction of the nanorods. Morphology and growth characteristics analyzed by electron microscopy were correlated with diffraction outcomes. Chemical composition was established by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. X-ray diffraction results and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed the presence of wurtzite ZnO and anatase TiO{sub 2} phases. Morphological changes noticed when the deposition velocity was lowered to the minimum, indicated the formation of relatively vertically oriented nanorods evenly distributed onto the TiO{sub 2} buffer film. By coupling two-dimensional X-ray diffraction and computational modeling with ANAELU it was proved that a successful texture determination was achieved and confirmed by scanning electron microscopy analysis. Texture analysis led to the conclusion of a preferred growth direction in [001] having a distribution width Ω = 20° ± 2°. - Highlights: • Uniform and pure single-crystal ZnO nanorods were obtained by AACVD technique. • Longitudinal and transversal axis parallel to the [001] and [110] directions, respectively. • Texture was determined by 2D synchrotron diffraction and electron microscopy analysis. • Nanorods have its [001] direction distributed close to the normal of the substrate. • Angular spread about the preferred orientation is 20° ± 2°.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗