The forces affecting the ink particles attachment to the paper substrates control the inking and deinking processes. In deinking process, the detachment of ink particles represents a big challenge due to the presence of nano-sized ink particles which can not be separated by conventional means, therefore, it needs special type of treatment to adapt the chemistry of the surrounding solution to control the interfacial forces to separate the ink particle and make their detachment easier. Although studies have been made to correlate chemical structure of fatty alcohol ethoxylates with the efficiency of ink removal, there is still a significant lack of fundamental knowledge regarding the influence of the ethoxylate alcohol on the interaction forces between particulates involved in the deinking process. In this research, fundamental study of the effect of nano-sized ethoxylated alcohol molecules, which exhibits high potential for application in wastepaper deinking, on the ink particle detachment due to changes in the interfacial forces will be studied. In addition, the ability of ethoxylated alcohol to produce nano-size bubbles will be tested in terms of their effect on the ink particle removal. Furthermore, relationship between molecular structure of ethoxylated fatty alcohols (length and ratio of hydrophobic and hydrophilic parts) and ink (toner) will be characterized using atomic force microscopy (AFM) colloidal probe technique.

The ability of selected molecular species to link Ag nanoparticles into dimers and/or small aggregates has been tested. Dimercaptocarborane and ethidium bromide have been shown to link Ag nanoparticles via their bonding to Ag nanoparticle surface probably by the two strongly argentophilic groups in para-positions. Alternatively, dimers and small aggregates were assembled through an electrostatic interaction between negatively charged citrate-modified and positively charged polylysine-modified Ag nanoparticles, and a subsequent incorporation of 5, 10, 15, 20-tetrakis(4-sulphonato-phenyl)porphine (TSPP) into such preprepared nanoobjects has been probed by SERRS (surface-enhanced resonance Raman scattering). Formation of dimers and small aggregates has been established by TEM (transmission electron microscopy) and SEM (scanning electron microscopy). SE(R)RS spectral measurements from specific locations of samples containing molecularly-linked dimers and aggregates have shown temporal fluctuations (blinking) of the SE(R)RS signal, which indicates, that the signal likely originates from molecules located in the strong, nanoscale localized optical fields dubbed hot spots. In addition to that, characteristic bands of graphitic carbon were observed in the spectra and their intensities (together with the spectral background intensities) strongly varied with time and from one spectrum to another. One of the possible explanations of these observations is a photochemical and/or thermal decomposition of the molecules located in hot spots combined with diffusion of unperturbed molecules into hot spots.

Recently, increasing demands for smarter and smaller products calls for the development of multifunctional composites. These materials are used not only as structural materials but also satisfy the needs for additional functionalities such as thermal, electrical, magnetic, optical, chemical, biological, etc. In this research, a novel carbon nanotubes dispersion approach leads to a new generation of multifunctional composites with additionally novel thermal functionality, we called it heat-directed functionality. These distinctive composites have unique capability which can conduct the majority of the transferred heat by conduction to the preferred area or direction of the thermal structure. This unique heat-directed property can be attained by varying the in-plane thermal conductivity. Varying the in-plane thermal conductivity of the composites functionally is achieved by dispersing highly heat-conductive materials such as carbon nanotubes throughout the matrix functionally, not uniformly. Therefore, in this research three phase carbon/carbon composites have been fabricated with functionally dispersed carbon nanotubes throughout the carbon matrix of continuously plain woven carbon fiber fabrics in order to attain this useful property. The fabricated heat-directed carbon/carbon composites have been examined experimentally and numerically. The in-situ full-field infrared measurements and finite element analysis of the designed composites showed that the heat transfer direction can be substantially controlled by just functionally dispersed a few percentages of carbon nanotubes through the matrix of traditional long carbon fiber-reinforced carbon matrix composites. This exceptional property can play a significant performance improvement in heat transfer process along the in-plane of the materials as well as helping to decrease the heating up of the Earth, global warming, due to the escaped heat of many engineering applications. In other words, the efficient heat energy management or heat energy saving via using the introduced multifunctional carbon/carbon composites with heat-directed functionality can significantly help with both sides of the equation of efficient energy consumption and friendly-environment applications.

Electron back scattered diffraction (EBSD) was used to document the texture developed during ECAP. Samples of commercial purity aluminum processed to 8 passes through route B C and route C were examined on two planes (flow plane and the plane normal to the extrusion direction) and pole figures and orientation distribution function plots (ODFs) were generated. The results of the texture evolved in the as ECAPed samples gave some interpretation for the different mechanical properties realized via the two routes, though the amount of imposed equivalent accumulated strain was the same. Furthermore, the texture developed when ECAPed samples were subsequently compressed was also documented, and the examination of pole figures, ascertained that there is a transition of texture accompanied with the strain path change from simple shear to simple compression.

Nanostructured and conventional titania (TiO2) coatings were thermally sprayed using air plasma spray (APS) and high velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) processes. The fatigue and mechanical properties of these coatings were investigated. The fatigue strength of coatings deposited onto low-carbon steel showed that the nanostructured titania coated specimens exhibited significantly higher fatigue strength compared to the conventionally sprayed titania. SEM analysis of fracture surfaces revealed valuable information regarding the influence of these coatings on the performance of the coated component. Analysis of surface deformation around Vickers indentations was carried out. This investigation gives new understanding to the nature of fatigue and deformation of these coatings.