Vacuum evaporated thin films surface energy

The Pd clusters have been produced by a recently developed high-frequency laser evaporation source, ionized, then guided by ion optics through differentially pumped vacuum chambers and size-selected by a quadrupole mass spectrometer [16-18]. The monodispersed clusters have been deposited with low kinetic energy (0.1-2 eV) onto a MgO thin film surface. The clusters-assembled materials obtained in this way exhibit peculiar activity and selectivity in the polymerization of acetylene to form benzene and aliphatic hydrocarbons [30]. 

There are three basic types of devolatilization equipment that have been used for the commercial manufacture of polystyrene wiped film evaporators, devolatilizing extruders and flash evaporators. In wiped film evaporators, the polymer solution is fed into a vessel under vacuum. The solution is moved into thin films along the vessel walls by a set of rotating blades. These blades continue to move the polymer through the vessel while continually renewing the surface area. The tank walls are heated to supply the required energy for devolatilization. These units are typically mounted vertically with the polymer solution fed at the top. At the bottom is a melt pool where a gear pump transfers the melt to the next unit operation, typically pelletization. 

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