Diamond nucleation by biased hot filament chemical vapor deposition was investigated by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. It was found that a number of microdefects were produced on a substrate surface owing to energetic ion bombardment under negative substrate bias, which increased with increasing negative bias. The nucleation density was enhanced with an increase of negative bias. During diamond nucleation, a purple glow was observed when the negative bias was increased to a critical value. At the onset of glow discharge, the process of diamond nucleation on a silicon surface by biased hot filament chemical vapor deposition was theoretically studied by analysis of the experimental results of diamond nucleation. The relationship among the number of active ions, the microdefects, and nucleation density with negative bias was given by reasonable analytic formulas. The effect of negative bias on ion diffusion on the substrate surface was theoretically researched and deduced. The influence of negative bias on the bond strength of diamond nuclei on the substrate was analyzed theoretically. The adhesion force between diamond nuclei and the substrate surface was measured by means of the scratch surface method, which was in accord with theoretical consideration. The results indicated that the theoretical calculation was in agreement with experimental results.

The functionalization of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) was carried out by using different chemical treatment methods. These functionalized CNTs were characterized by TEM image and FT-IR spectra. The CNT electrodes are measured by thermal resistivity and cyclic voltammetry experiments. The results showed that two important factors controlled the electrochemical properties of the CNT film electrode: one is the active functional group; another is activation energy of the CNT film. From our experiments, we have found the electrode of 10min nitric acid treated CNTs have the optimal peaks in relation to carboxylic acids, the highest redox peak currents, the biggest value of k0 and welldefined quasi-reversible voltammograms for redox of iron couples, in which the two factors best match.

The Pr55-xAl12+xFe33−yCuy (0≤x≤5, 0≤y≤8) bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) 5mm in diameter and 100 mm in length were prepared by copper mold suction casting. Hysteresis loops of the Pr55−xAl12+xFe33−yCuy BMGs and the corresponding Pr55Al12Fe30Cu3 crystallized alloy were measured, and the results showed that the Pr55−xAl12+xFe33−yCuy BMGs are hard magnetic, while the completely crystallized Pr55Al12Fe30Cu3 alloy is paramagnetic at room temperature. The thermal behavior and crystallization of the Pr55Al12Fe30Cu3 BMG were studied by differential scanning calorimetry, and the results indicated that the Pr-based BMG has obvious glass transition and a wide supercooled liquid region up to 75K. The crystallization activation energy for the Pr55Al12Fe30Cu3 BMG is much smaller than that of Zr-Ti-Cu-Ni-Be BMG.

Magnetoresistive effects were studied in p-type heteroepitaxial diamond films with a strip or Corbino disk structure in a magnetic field ranging from 0 to 5 T. The films were grown by microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition and boron doped by cold ion implantation and rapid thermal annealing. The experimental results show that the magnetoresistance (MGR) of p-type heteroepitaxial diamond films strongly depends on the geometric form of the samples and the magnetic field. Diamond films are assumed to be an isotropic isothermal solid in which conduction is by holes from light, heavy and split-off bands. Based on the Fuchs and Sondheimer thin-film theory, considering spherical energy surfaces and mixed scattering by lattice vibrations and ionized impurities and surface, a theoretical description of the magnetoresistive effect in diamond films is presented by solving the Boltzmann transport equation in the relaxation time approximation. A relationship between the MGR and the thickness of films, magnetic field, and mobility is shown.

A rare-earth Pr-based bulk metallic glass (BMG) is obtained in the shape of rod up to 5mm in diameter by die cast. Unlike other rare-earth-based BMGs, it exhibits a distinct glass transition, the low glass transition temperature (Tg5409 K), a large and stable supercooled liquid region, and paramagnetic property. The glass transition as well as its kinetic nature and the fragility parameters of the BMG have been studied. The BMG offers an ideal model to investigate the nature of glass transition as well as the relaxation and nucleation with a large experimentally accessible time and temperature window at low temperatures.