Applied Surface Science Advances最新文献

{"title":"Advanced tarnish-resistant silver alloys using Cu, Al, Zn, and Be: composition optimization and surface passivation","authors":"Harsha Kozhakkattil ,&nbsp;Mukaddar Sk ,&nbsp;Ranjit Thapa ,&nbsp;G.S. VinodKumar","doi":"10.1016/j.apsadv.2025.100799","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsadv.2025.100799","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A novel class of tarnish-resistant silver alloys containing Cu, Al, Zn, and Be was developed. While Cu is a conventional alloying element in sterling silver (Ag-7.5 wt. %Cu), the addition of Al, Zn, and Be was aimed at forming stable surface oxides to inhibit Ag₂S formation that tarnishes silver alloy surface. The silver alloys produced were subjected to Passivation Heat Treatment (PHT) under oxygen atmosphere, promoting the formation of protective oxide layers. The XRD, SEM/EDX, and XPS characterization confirmed the formation of oxides contributing to tarnish resistance. Accelerated tarnish tests and UV–Visible reflectance spectroscopy demonstrated that Ag-3.5Cu-2Zn-1.9Al-0.1Be alloy exhibited strong resistance to tarnishing, having maximum reflectance values in the range of 60–70 %. The trace addition of Be was pivotal in controlling oxidation by creating a barrier for the diffusion of oxygen during PHT, preventing CuO related fire stains and ensuring tarnish resistance. The adsorption energy ratios of sulphur and oxygen of the silver alloys were studied computationally. The lower value of the ratio is implicative of a preference for oxidation over sulphidation. The value obtained is 0.373 for Ag-3.5Cu-2Zn-1.9Al-0.1Be, which is the least, and it is due to the presence of appropriate amounts of Zn, Al, and Be in the composition.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34303,"journal":{"name":"Applied Surface Science Advances","volume":"28 ","pages":"Article 100799"},"PeriodicalIF":7.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144549478","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Integration of biomass valorization and bicarbonate electrolysis for low-voltage production of value-added chemicals","authors":"Dohee Kim ,&nbsp;Hyeonuk Choi ,&nbsp;Hojeong Lee ,&nbsp;Eunui An ,&nbsp;Yoonyoung Kim ,&nbsp;Youngkook Kwon ,&nbsp;Jihun Oh","doi":"10.1016/j.apsadv.2025.100798","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsadv.2025.100798","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Bicarbonate electrolysis (BCE) utilizing captured CO₂ holds promise for the production of carbon-based chemicals and fuels but exhibits a low energy efficiency due to the high theoretical voltage required to drive the anodic oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Herein, BCE is coupled with the glycerol electrochemical oxidation reaction (GEOR) instead of the OER to decrease the operation voltage and obtain glycolic acid (GCA) and other valuable products. The mechanism of the GEOR, which is catalyzed by a gold nanoparticles embedded nickel oxides combined with multi-walled carbon nanotube (Au-NiO-CNT), is probed by examining the effects of electrolyte alkalinity, with further insights provided by in situ Raman and electrochemical impedance spectroscopic analyses. The incorporated carbon nanotubes increase the catalyst's conductivity, promoting the formation of α-Ni(OH)₂ on the NiO support during the GEOR and thus facilitating the establishment of Ni–OH moieties and their reaction with the primary hydroxyl groups of glycerol to increase GCA selectivity at low applied potentials. Compared with OER-coupled BCE, our process features an ∼890 mV lower operation voltage at 150 mA cm^–2, high CO (86.7 % in 3 M KHCO₃) and GCA (25.5 % in 0.1 M glycerol and 3 M KOH) selectivities, and a 16 % lower energy consumption at 150 mA cm^–2 (76.76 vs. 91.38 MWh per ton CO).</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34303,"journal":{"name":"Applied Surface Science Advances","volume":"28 ","pages":"Article 100798"},"PeriodicalIF":7.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144549477","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Antimicrobial activity enhancement of MgO nanoparticles through Zn doping against multidrug-resistant bacteria","authors":"Benjamín Hernández-Figueroa ,&nbsp;Guillermo Herrera-Pérez ,&nbsp;Jesus S. Uribe-Chavira ,&nbsp;Antonia Luna-Velasco ,&nbsp;Alva Castillo-González ,&nbsp;Blanca Sánchez-Ramírez ,&nbsp;Claudia A. Ramírez-Valdespino ,&nbsp;María R. Peralta-Pérez ,&nbsp;Dayana E. Salas-Leiva ,&nbsp;Edward A. Espinoza-Sánchez ,&nbsp;Joan S. Salas-Leiva","doi":"10.1016/j.apsadv.2025.100797","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsadv.2025.100797","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The structural, morphological, and antibacterial effects resulted from incorporating zinc into magnesium oxide (MgO) host lattice. Two samples were synthesized via the precipitation method with 10 and 16% zinc concentrations, and their properties were compared with those of a commercial (MgOc) sample. Structural analyses confirmed a cubic structure with space group Fm-3 m, which underwent distortions as Zn concentration increased. Microstructural studies via X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy revealed nanoparticle (NPs) formation with a polyhedral morphology resulting from surface hydroxylation of cubic-shaped particles. Zinc incorporation and the presence of defects centers such as oxygen vacancies creates electronic states inside the bandgap reducing the bandgap energy value from 5.7 eV to 4.7 eV. Furthermore, an increase in Urbach energy was observed, suggesting greater energetic disorder due to the introduction of localized electronic levels within the bandgap. Zinc incorporation also increasing the average particle size. Antibacterial activity was evaluated based on IC₅₀. For <em>Staphylococcus aureus</em> ATCC, IC₅₀ values were 0.8 mg/mL and 0.49 mg/mL for commercial MgO NPs (MgOc) and MgO-Zn 10, respectively. In the case of <em>S. aureus</em>, multidrug-resistant (MDR) needed 2.81 mg/mL MgOc NPs, whereas IC₅₀ was reduced to 0.69 mg/mL for MgO-Zn 10. For <em>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</em> ATCC, IC₅₀ of MgOc NPs was 0.77 mg/mL, whereas a decrease of 0.34 mg/mL was observed for MgO-Zn 10. Concerning <em>P. aeruginosa</em> MDR, IC₅₀ of MgOc NPs was 0.710 mg/mL, whereas a value lower than 0.5 mg/mL was recorded for MgO-Zn 10. These results suggest that using MgO‒Zn nanoparticles represents a promising strategy for combating multidrug-resistant bacteria.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34303,"journal":{"name":"Applied Surface Science Advances","volume":"28 ","pages":"Article 100797"},"PeriodicalIF":7.5,"publicationDate":"2025-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144513903","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Copper hydroxide nanosheets: Synthesis, structural analysis, and electrochemical performance evaluation","authors":"Hye Seong Jang ,&nbsp;Min Kyeong Kim ,&nbsp;Dohun Lee ,&nbsp;Youngji Kim ,&nbsp;Yeongeun Jang ,&nbsp;Seunghwa Lee ,&nbsp;John Hong ,&nbsp;Gyeong Hee Ryu","doi":"10.1016/j.apsadv.2025.100795","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsadv.2025.100795","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Two-dimensional (2D) oxides have garnered extensive attention owing to their remarkable properties, including high surface-to-volume ratios and unique chemical and physical properties. Among the various methods reported for the synthesis of 2D structures, surfactant-based approaches are particularly advantageous because they enable the formation of 2D nanostructures at the water–air interface. Nanostructured copper oxides are widely used as electrode materials for energy storage and conversion in batteries and supercapacitors. We synthesised 2D Cu(OH)₂ nanosheets using an innovative surfactant-assisted method and analysed their structural and electrochemical properties. The Cu(OH)₂ nanosheets exhibited good supercapacitor performance because of the increased active area of the 2D structures. However, the electrochemical performance of the Cu(OH)₂ nanosheets was adversely affected by annealing owing to the changes in the crystal structure of copper hydroxide. Our findings contribute significantly to the field of 2D nanoscale materials, and the proposed synthesis method facilitates the development of various nanoscale materials with tuneable properties.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34303,"journal":{"name":"Applied Surface Science Advances","volume":"28 ","pages":"Article 100795"},"PeriodicalIF":7.5,"publicationDate":"2025-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144501874","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Theoretical study of the adsorption of methyl formate on the MgO (100) surface","authors":"R.E. Ambrusi ,&nbsp;J. Juan ,&nbsp;J.M. Marchetti","doi":"10.1016/j.apsadv.2025.100794","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsadv.2025.100794","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A density functional theory study was performed to understand the interactions of the methyl formate molecule with the MgO (100) surface. In this context, the adsorption mechanisms of the molecule were investigated, with a focus on its stability on the substrate, the geometric structure of the system, and the interactions between the molecule and the surface. Two main stable configurations with approximately the same adsorption energy (about 0.47 eV) were found. The first configuration involves the oxygen of the carbonyl group on the Mg top site, while the second involves the remaining ester group oxygen on the same site. It is important to emphasize that each configuration interacts in different proportions in chemical and physical mechanisms, and with different bond participation. To comprehensively understand these phenomena, a systematic study was conducted, incorporating energy calculations, density of states, and charge and density difference analyses. Furthermore, chemical descriptors such as overlap population and bond order were employed to supplement the electronic results through a qualitative analysis of the main bonds.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34303,"journal":{"name":"Applied Surface Science Advances","volume":"28 ","pages":"Article 100794"},"PeriodicalIF":7.5,"publicationDate":"2025-06-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144313803","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Role of pz band in hybrid carbon-bimetallic subnanocluster PtM (M = 3d, 4d, 5d block metals) catalysts to boost electrochemical oxygen reduction reaction","authors":"Eoyoon Lee ,&nbsp;Sangyong Shin ,&nbsp;Hyunjoo Lee ,&nbsp;Hyung Chul Ham","doi":"10.1016/j.apsadv.2025.100792","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsadv.2025.100792","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The utilization of carbon-encapsulated Pt or Pt-alloy subnanocluster catalysts for proton exchange membrane fuel cells is a promising strategy to further reduce Pt loadings, enhancing catalytic activity and stability. However, such subnanocluster catalysts with carbon encapsulation remain prospective nanomaterials since they have been rarely explored to date. Here, using spin-polarized density functional theory (DFT) calculation, the carbon-encapsulated Pt and Pt-alloy catalysts (Pt<em>_n</em>@C and Pt₃M₃@C) featuring subnanoclusters are developed. Unlike the dissociative oxygen reduction occurring on a variety of metals, The Pt₆@C offered facile four-electron oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) pathway via H₂O₂ decomposition with low kinetic barrier (0.11 eV) at unique active site (carbon surface), and exhibited improved ORR activity with higher onset potential of 0.60 V over against Pt(111) catalyst (0.52 V). To reduce Pt loading and tune catalytic activity of Pt₆@C, the binary Pt₃M₃ alloy subnanoclusters (M = 3d, 4d and 5d block metals) were introduced. Using activity descriptor (*OOH adsorption energy), the screening of Pt₃M₃@C candidates was conducted. It suggested new Pt₃Co₃ (0.62 V), Pt₃Rh₃ (0.60 V), Pt₃Ta₃ (0.65 V), Pt₃Re₃ (0.61 V) alloy subnanoclusters possessing even or better ORR activity relative to Pt₆@C. The achievement of high ORR performance was also unveiled through an effective charge transfer from the metal subananocluster to the carbon shell. This leads to the down-shift of p_z band center of the carbon sites and in turn the formation of bonding orbital between *OOH and carbon at deeper energy level, which consequently strengthens *OOH adsorption and decreases the overpotential. Our study can provide valuable insight into developing the hybrid metal-carbon catalysts with highly reduced Pt loadings for the efficient ORR as well as other electrocatalysis applications.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34303,"journal":{"name":"Applied Surface Science Advances","volume":"28 ","pages":"Article 100792"},"PeriodicalIF":7.5,"publicationDate":"2025-06-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144321859","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Soft magnetic composite obtained by interface reaction upon spark plasma sintering using double-coated Al-permalloy (Ni71.25Fe23.75Al5) composite particles","authors":"Traian Florin Marinca ,&nbsp;Florin Popa ,&nbsp;Amalia Zorica Mesaroș ,&nbsp;Bogdan Viorel Neamțu ,&nbsp;Virgiliu Călin Prică ,&nbsp;Horea Florin Chicinaș ,&nbsp;Ionel Chicinaș","doi":"10.1016/j.apsadv.2025.100793","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsadv.2025.100793","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soft magnetic composite with oxide matrix (mainly alumina) have been prepared by reactive sintering of double-coated Al-permalloy (Ni71.25Fe23.75Al5 wt. %) composite particles. Nanocrystalline Al-permalloy powder have been first superficially oxidized by immersion in HCl solution. Upon oxidizing a thin layer of a mixture of oxides is formed. The Ni71.25Fe23.75Al5@oxide particles have been homogenised with Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles to obtain double layer coated particles. The as-obtained double coated particles have been densified at 900 °C by spark plasma sintering. Upon sintering, reactions at the interface between the metallic part of the particles and the double-layer of oxides occurs. Al atoms diffused to the particles' outer layer and reacted with the oxides layers, resulting mainly alumina. The microstructure is consisting of metallic Ni-based clusters embedded in alumina matrix. The alumina layer is continuous offering a high electrical resistivity. The interface between the metallic and oxide layer was analysed and discussed. The powder has been characterised by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray microanalyses (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and the sintered composite compacts by SEM and from magnetic and electric point of views. The characteristics of powder and compacts are discussed and corelated with the process and interface reactions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34303,"journal":{"name":"Applied Surface Science Advances","volume":"28 ","pages":"Article 100793"},"PeriodicalIF":7.5,"publicationDate":"2025-06-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144307665","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effect of SiC nanoparticles on the wear and corrosion resistance of Ag-Si composite coatings prepared by electrodeposition technique","authors":"F. Bakhtiarifard,&nbsp;N. Nayebpashaee","doi":"10.1016/j.apsadv.2025.100791","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsadv.2025.100791","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study aims to improve the corrosion and wear resistance of Ag-Si-SiC composite coatings by pulse-reverse electrodeposition and the addition of SiC nanoparticles. The effects of important parameters such as SiC nanoparticles, direct current, and pulse reverse electrodeposition on the microstructure, wear, and corrosion resistance of Ag-Si-SiC coatings were investigated. The coatings were evaluated using different characterization techniques such as SEM, EDS, XRD, XRF, LSV and electrochemical analysis. In addition, the pin-on-disk method and Vickers microhardness were developed to investigate the wear behavior. The coating process resulted in coatings with a target thickness of 30–40 µm, which were accompanied by a significant improvement in surface quality. This improvement was reflected in the roughness reduction from 251.4 µm to 107.8 µm. The results of the analyses showed that coatings with a Si content of 0.3 % exhibited a reduction in grain size from 20 µm to 1.2 µm and a subsequent reduction in corrosion current strength from 478×10⁻⁸ A.cm⁻² to 7.31×10⁻¹⁰ A.cm⁻² in the artificial human sweat electrolyte. The addition of 4 g/L SiC nanoparticles resulted in increased wear resistance, as indicated by a decrease in the friction coefficient from 0.5 ± 0.05 to 0.4 ± 0.03 while maintaining the same corrosion resistance. The remarkable performance of the coatings was observed under exposure to corrosive ammonium sulfide electrolytes and artificial human sweat, illustrating the effectiveness of pulsed reverse electrodeposition in producing dense, fine-grained structures of Ag-Si-SiC composite coatings, resulting in increased mechanical and corrosion resistance.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34303,"journal":{"name":"Applied Surface Science Advances","volume":"28 ","pages":"Article 100791"},"PeriodicalIF":7.5,"publicationDate":"2025-06-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144280395","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Highly porous single-phase rhombohedral CrxRh2−xO3 nanofibers expediting oxygen evolution reaction","authors":"Taehui Kwon ,&nbsp;Kyungmin Kim ,&nbsp;Sampath Prabhakaran ,&nbsp;Subin Choi ,&nbsp;Jiwon Kim ,&nbsp;Yeji Yim ,&nbsp;Jihyun Park ,&nbsp;Hoi Ri Moon ,&nbsp;Myung Hwa Kim ,&nbsp;Do Hwan Kim ,&nbsp;Youngmi Lee","doi":"10.1016/j.apsadv.2025.100789","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsadv.2025.100789","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Single-phase rhombohedral Cr<em>_x</em>Rh₂₋<em>_x</em>O₃ nanofibers are demonstrated as an excellent and stable electrocatalyst for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) under alkaline condition. Facile optimization of the annealing temperature for electrospun nanofibers composed of Cr/Rh metal precursors and poly(vinylpyrrolidone) could produce highly porous nanofibers of single-phase Cr<em>_x</em>Rh₂₋<em>_x</em>O₃ by randomly distributing two metal ions of Cr³⁺ and Rh³⁺ in the rhombohedral crystalline lattice sites. Single-phase Cr<em>_x</em>Rh₂₋<em>_x</em>O₃ could then induce the best synergistic effect of Cr and Rh owing to the perturbation of the surface electronic structure of the electrocatalyst active site and much enlarged electroactive surface area. Density functional theory (DFT) simulation integrated with experimental data indicated that the increased activity was due to moderate <em>d</em>-band center energy levels. This regulates oxygen desorption and adsorption capacities in the intermediates (*OH, *O, and *OOH). Conclusively, Cr<em>_x</em>Rh₂₋<em>_x</em>O₃ nanofibers exhibited superior OER catalytic performances (low overpotential and Tafel slope with high stability and easy product desorption) compared to other Rh-related catalysts reported to date.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34303,"journal":{"name":"Applied Surface Science Advances","volume":"28 ","pages":"Article 100789"},"PeriodicalIF":7.5,"publicationDate":"2025-06-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144280394","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Self-organized morphological and compositional evolution in Al1-xInxN structures on GaN layers","authors":"Da Mi Kwon ,&nbsp;Hyun Jin Choi ,&nbsp;Chan Hee Hwang ,&nbsp;Jong Hoon Kim ,&nbsp;Tae Hyeon Jeong ,&nbsp;Eun Ah Cheon ,&nbsp;Young-Kyun Noh ,&nbsp;Mino Yang ,&nbsp;Young Heon Kim","doi":"10.1016/j.apsadv.2025.100786","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsadv.2025.100786","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The temperature-dependent microstructural and compositional characteristics of Al_1-xIn_xN structures grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) were investigated to understand the growth behaviors using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. Self-organized 2D layers and 3D nanostructures were identified in the Al_1-xIn_xN structures grown at 620 °C and 685 °C, while a complete 2D layer formed at 735 °C. As the growth temperature increased from 620 °C to 685 °C, the thickness of the 2D layer increased, while the length of the 3D nanostructures decreased. With increasing temperature, the indium composition in the Al_1-xIn_xN structures decreased from approximately 12 % at 620 °C to 0 % at 735 °C. Compositional fluctuations were observed in the structures grown at 620 °C and 685 °C. Indium-rich clusters resulting from phase separation appeared predominantly in the 3D nanostructures grown at these temperatures. The observed microstructural evolution and compositional fluctuation were interpreted based on growth kinetics. These findings offer valuable insights for optimizing epitaxial growth strategies of ternary compound semiconductors to control morphological features and improve microstructural quality.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34303,"journal":{"name":"Applied Surface Science Advances","volume":"28 ","pages":"Article 100786"},"PeriodicalIF":7.5,"publicationDate":"2025-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144270984","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}