Functional Oxide Thin Films and Nanostructures: Growth, Properties, and Applications

A special issue of Coatings (ISSN 2079-6412). This special issue belongs to the section "Thin Films".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2022) | Viewed by 25345

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Guest Editor
College of Engineering, Shibaura Institute of Technology, Saitama 337-8570, Japan
Interests: thin films; oxides; superconductors; thermoelectrics; energy materials; heat transfer; vortex matter; sustainability
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Guest Editor
Kanagawa Institute of Industrial Science and Technology (KISTEC), 705-1 Shimo-Imaizumi, Ebina, Kanagawa 243-0435, Japan
Interests: oxide thin films; graphene; carbon composites

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Guest Editor
Japan Advanced Chemicals, 3007-4 Kamiechi, Atsugi, Kanagawa 243-0801, Japan
Interests: oxide thin films; multifunctional oxide composites and heterostructures; plasma effects on polymer films and tight bonding; plasma effects on carbon fibers

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

It is our pleasure and honor to invite you to submit your contribution to this Special Issue of Coatings entitled “Functional Oxide Thin Films and Nanostructures: Growth, Properties, and Applications”.

Recent materials nanotechnologies have brought possibilities of fabrication of oxide thin films in nanometric level, as well as of other nanocomposites. In parallel, recent measurement technologies can supply characterizations of their unique properties arising from limited regions of surfaces and interfaces. This Special Issue provides an opportunity to share surface-related science and engineering topics on oxide thin films and nanocomposites in an interactive and interdisciplinary manner. The ultimate goal is to elucidate commonalities and differences between multilayer interfaces and nanocomposite grain boundaries.

This Special Issue is intended as an effort to bridge the gap between materials science and the applications of oxide thin films and nanostructures.

In particular, the topics of interest include but are not limited to:

  • Novel technologies to fabricate oxide nanomaterials;
  • Flexible and mechanically rigid oxide materials;
  • Wide categories of functional oxides (semiconducting, superconducting, magnetic, ferroelectric, multiferroic, optical);
  • Understanding of structures and properties of oxide materials effectively exhibiting above functions;
  • Similarities and differences between “normal thin films” and “ultrathin films and multilayers”, influenced by surfaces and interfaces;
  • Similarities and differences between “normal composites” and “nanocomposites”, influenced by larger and smaller grain

Prof. Dr. Paolo Mele
Dr. Satoru Kaneko
Prof. emer. Tamio Endo
Guest Editors

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Coatings is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • oxide materials
  • thin films
  • multilayers
  • nanostructuration
  • functional oxides
  • structure/property correlations

Published Papers (12 papers)

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Editorial

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2 pages, 170 KiB  
Editorial
Special Issue “Functional Oxide Thin Films and Nanostructures: Growth, Properties, and Applications”
by Paolo Mele, Satoru Kaneko and Tamio Endo
Coatings 2022, 12(6), 778; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/coatings12060778 - 05 Jun 2022
Viewed by 988
Abstract
It has been almost three years since we enthusiastically accepted the offer to be guest editors for this Special Issue of Coatings, entitled “Functional Oxide Thin Films and Nanostructures: Growth, Properties, and Applications” [...] Full article

Research

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10 pages, 3358 KiB  
Article
Effect of Ti Atoms on Néel Relaxation Mechanism at Magnetic Heating Performance of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles
by Musa Mutlu Can, Chasan Bairam, Seda Aksoy, Dürdane Serap Kuruca, Satoru Kaneko, Zerrin Aktaş and Mustafa Oral Öncül
Coatings 2022, 12(4), 481; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/coatings12040481 - 02 Apr 2022
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 1912
Abstract
The study was based on understanding the relationship between titanium (Ti) doping amount and magnetic heating performance of magnetite (Fe3O4). Superparamagnetic nanosized Ti-doped magnetite ((Fe1−x,Tix)3O4; x = 0.02, 0.03 and 0.05) [...] Read more.
The study was based on understanding the relationship between titanium (Ti) doping amount and magnetic heating performance of magnetite (Fe3O4). Superparamagnetic nanosized Ti-doped magnetite ((Fe1−x,Tix)3O4; x = 0.02, 0.03 and 0.05) particles were synthesized by sol-gel technique. In addition to (Fe1−x,Tix)3O4 nanoparticles, SiO2 coated (Fe1−x,Tix)3O4 nanoparticles were produced as core-shell structures to understand the effects of silica coating on the magnetic properties of nanoparticles. Moreover, the magnetic properties were associated with the Néel relaxation mechanism due to the magnetic heating ability of single-domain state nanoparticles. In terms of results, it was observed that the induced RF magnetic field for SiO2 coated (Fe0.97,Ti0.03)3O4 nanoparticles caused an increase in temperature difference (ΔT), which reached up to 22 °C in 10 min. The ΔT values of SiO2 coated (Fe0.97,Ti0.03)3O4 nanoparticles were very close to the values of uncoated Fe3O4 nanoparticles. Full article
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9 pages, 1753 KiB  
Article
Synthesis of Iron Gallate (FeGa2O4) Nanoparticles by Mechanochemical Method
by Musa Mutlu Can, Yeşim Akbaba and Satoru Kaneko
Coatings 2022, 12(4), 423; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/coatings12040423 - 22 Mar 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1785
Abstract
The study was focused on optimizing the procedure of synthesizing iron gallate (FeGa2O4) nanoparticles by mechanochemical techniques. Due to a lack of information in the literature about the sequence of synthesis procedures of FeGa2O4 structures, the [...] Read more.
The study was focused on optimizing the procedure of synthesizing iron gallate (FeGa2O4) nanoparticles by mechanochemical techniques. Due to a lack of information in the literature about the sequence of synthesis procedures of FeGa2O4 structures, the study is based on the establishment of a recipe for FeGa2O4 synthesis using mechanochemical techniques. Rotation speed, grinding media, and milling durations were the optimized parameters. At the end of each step, the structure of the resulting samples was investigated using the X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of samples. At the end of the processes, the XRD patterns of the samples milled under an air atmosphere were coherent with the XRD pattern of the FeGa2O4 structure. XRD patterns were analyzed employing Rietveld refinements to determine lattice parameters under the assumption of an inverse spinel crystal formation. Furthermore, a fluctuation at band gap values in the range of 2.39 to 2.55 eV was realized and associated with the excess Fe atoms in the lattice, which settled as defects in the crystal structures. Full article
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17 pages, 4671 KiB  
Article
The Phase Evolution and Photocatalytic Properties of a Ti-TiO2 Bilayer Thin Film Prepared Using Thermal Oxidation
by Ping-Yuan Lee, Endrika Widyastuti, Tzu-Che Lin, Chen-Tien Chiu, Fu-Yang Xu, Yaw-Teng Tseng and Ying-Chieh Lee
Coatings 2021, 11(7), 808; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/coatings11070808 - 03 Jul 2021
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3270
Abstract
Ti-TiO2 bilayer thin films were successfully prepared onto a glass substrate using magnetron sputtering with different TiO2 bottom layer conditions. These represent a lack of (as-deposited) and full oxygen content (annealed). Single-layer Ti was additionally used as a control. The influence [...] Read more.
Ti-TiO2 bilayer thin films were successfully prepared onto a glass substrate using magnetron sputtering with different TiO2 bottom layer conditions. These represent a lack of (as-deposited) and full oxygen content (annealed). Single-layer Ti was additionally used as a control. The influence of oxygen diffusion phenomena of the bottom layer of TiO2 to the upper layer of Ti thin films at different oxidation temperatures on structural, optical, and photocatalytic performance was investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results confirmed that the crystalline phases coexisting on thin-film samples oxidized at 450 °C were TiO, TiO1.4, (bilayer, as-deposited TiO2), anatase (bilayer, annealed TiO2), and rutile (single and bilayer). This finding showed that the film’s phase structure evolution is significantly affected by oxygen diffusion from the bottom layer. Further increasing the thermal oxidation temperature caused a notable decline in the amorphous zone in bilayer thin films based on TEM analysis. Bilayer thin films lead to higher degradation of methylene blue under UV light radiation (63%) than single-layer films (45%) oxidized at 450 °C. High photocatalytic activity performance was found in the bilayer annealed TiO2-Ti thin-film sample. This study demonstrates that the bilayer modification strategy promotes the oxygen-induced bottom layer of TiO2 bilayer thin films. Full article
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7 pages, 3932 KiB  
Article
Antiferromagnetic Oxide Thin Films for Spintronic Applications
by Saima Afroz Siddiqui, Deshun Hong, John E. Pearson and Axel Hoffmann
Coatings 2021, 11(7), 786; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/coatings11070786 - 30 Jun 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2858
Abstract
Antiferromagnetic oxides have recently gained much attention because of the possibility to manipulate electrically and optically the Néel vectors in these materials. Their ultrafast spin dynamics, long spin diffusion length and immunity to large magnetic fields make them attractive candidates for spintronic applications. [...] Read more.
Antiferromagnetic oxides have recently gained much attention because of the possibility to manipulate electrically and optically the Néel vectors in these materials. Their ultrafast spin dynamics, long spin diffusion length and immunity to large magnetic fields make them attractive candidates for spintronic applications. Additionally, there have been many studies on spin wave and magnon transport in single crystals of these oxides. However, the successful applications of the antiferromagnetic oxides will require similar spin transport properties in thin films. In this work, we systematically show the sputtering deposition method for two uniaxial antiferromagnetic oxides, namely Cr2O3 and α-Fe2O3, on A-plane sapphire substrates, and identify the optimized deposition conditions for epitaxial films with low surface roughness. We also confirm the antiferromagnetic properties of the thin films. The deposition method developed in this article will be important for studying the magnon transport in these epitaxial antiferromagnetic thin films. Full article
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14 pages, 3548 KiB  
Article
Structural, Magnetic and Gas Sensing Activity of Pure and Cr Doped In2O3 Thin Films Grown by Pulsed Laser Deposition
by Veeraswamy Yaragani, Hari Prasad Kamatam, Karuppiah Deva Arun Kumar, Paolo Mele, Arulanandam Jegatha Christy, Kugalur Venkidusamy Gunavathy, Sultan Alomairy and Mohammed Sultan Al-Buriahi
Coatings 2021, 11(5), 588; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/coatings11050588 - 17 May 2021
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3116
Abstract
Pure In2O3 and 6% Cr-doped In2O3 thin films were prepared on a silicon (Si) substrate by pulsed laser deposition technique. The obtained In2O3/In2O3:Cr thin films structural, morphological, optical, magnetic [...] Read more.
Pure In2O3 and 6% Cr-doped In2O3 thin films were prepared on a silicon (Si) substrate by pulsed laser deposition technique. The obtained In2O3/In2O3:Cr thin films structural, morphological, optical, magnetic and gas sensing properties were briefly investigated. The X-ray diffraction results confirmed that the grown thin films are in single-phase cubic bixbyte structure with space group Ia-3. The SEM analysis showed the formation of agglomerated spherical shape morphology with the decreased average grain size for Cr doped In2O3 thin film compared to pure In2O3 film. It is observed that the Cr doped In2O3 thin film shows the lower band gap energy and that the corresponding transmittance is around 80%. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements revealed that the presence of oxygen vacancy in the doped In2O3 film. These oxygen defects could play a significant role to enhance the sensing performance towards chemical species. In the magnetic hysteresis loop, it is clear that the prepared films confirm the ferromagnetic behaviour and the maximum saturation value of 39 emu/cc for Cr doped In2O3 film. NH3 gas sensing studies was also carried out at room temperature for both pure and Cr doped In2O3 films, and the obtained higher sensitivity is 182% for Cr doped In2O3, which is about nine times higher than for the pure In2O3 film due to the presence of defects on the doped film surface. Full article
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13 pages, 2972 KiB  
Article
Synthesis and Properties of p-Si/n-Cd1−xAgxO Heterostructure for Transparent Photodiode Devices
by Mannarsamy Anitha, Karuppiah Deva Arun Kumar, Paolo Mele, Nagarajan Anitha, Karunamoorthy Saravanakumar, Mahmoud Ahmed Sayed, Atif Mossad Ali and Lourdusamy Amalraj
Coatings 2021, 11(4), 425; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/coatings11040425 - 07 Apr 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2783
Abstract
We developed silver-doped Cd1xAgxO thin films (where x = 0, 0.01, 0.02, 0.03 and 0.04) on amorphous glass substrate by an automated nebulizer spray pyrolysis set-up. The XRD patterns show rock salt cubic crystal structures, and the [...] Read more.
We developed silver-doped Cd1xAgxO thin films (where x = 0, 0.01, 0.02, 0.03 and 0.04) on amorphous glass substrate by an automated nebulizer spray pyrolysis set-up. The XRD patterns show rock salt cubic crystal structures, and the crystallite sizes vary with respect to Ag doping concentrations. SEM images exhibited a uniform distribution of grains with the addition of Ag; this feature could support the enhancement of electron mobility. The transmittance spectra reveal that all films show high transmittance in the visible region with the observed bandgap of about 2.40 eV. The room temperature photoluminescence (PL) studies show the increase of near-band-edge (NBE) emission of the films prepared by different Ag doping levels, resulting in respective decreases in the bandgaps. The photodiode performance was analyzed for the fabricated p-Si/n-Cd1xAgxO devices. The responsivity, external quantum efficiency and detectivity of the prepared p-Si/n-Cd1xAgxO device were investigated. The repeatability of the optimum (3 at.% Ag) photodiode was also studied. The present investigation suggests that Cd1xAgxO thin films are the potential candidates for various industrial and photodetector applications. Full article
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13 pages, 2679 KiB  
Article
Enhanced Electrical Properties and Stability of P-Type Conduction in ZnO Transparent Semiconductor Thin Films by Co-Doping Ga and N
by Chien-Yie Tsay and Wan-Yu Chiu
Coatings 2020, 10(11), 1069; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/coatings10111069 - 06 Nov 2020
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2253
Abstract
P-type ZnO transparent semiconductor thin films were prepared on glass substrates by the sol-gel spin-coating process with N doping and Ga–N co-doping. Comparative studies of the microstructural features, optical properties, and electrical characteristics of ZnO, N-doped ZnO (ZnO:N), and Ga–N co-doped ZnO (ZnO:Ga–N) [...] Read more.
P-type ZnO transparent semiconductor thin films were prepared on glass substrates by the sol-gel spin-coating process with N doping and Ga–N co-doping. Comparative studies of the microstructural features, optical properties, and electrical characteristics of ZnO, N-doped ZnO (ZnO:N), and Ga–N co-doped ZnO (ZnO:Ga–N) thin films are reported in this paper. Each as-coated sol-gel film was preheated at 300 °C for 10 min in air and then annealed at 500 °C for 1 h in oxygen ambient. X-ray diffraction (XRD) examination confirmed that these ZnO-based thin films had a polycrystalline nature and an entirely wurtzite structure. The incorporation of N and Ga–N into ZnO thin films obviously refined the microstructures, reduced surface roughness, and enhanced the transparency in the visible range. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis confirmed the incorporation of N and Ga–N into the ZnO:N and ZnO:Ga–N thin films, respectively. The room temperature PL spectra exhibited a prominent peak and a broad band, which corresponded to the near-band edge emission and deep-level emission. Hall measurement revealed that the ZnO semiconductor thin films were converted from n-type to p-type after incorporation of N into ZnO nanocrystals, and they had a mean hole concentration of 1.83 × 1015 cm−3 and a mean resistivity of 385.4 Ω·cm. In addition, the Ga–N co-doped ZnO thin film showed good p-type conductivity with a hole concentration approaching 4.0 × 1017 cm−3 and a low resistivity of 5.09 Ω·cm. The Ga–N co-doped thin films showed relatively stable p-type conduction (>three weeks) compared with the N-doped thin films. Full article
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11 pages, 6672 KiB  
Article
Construction of Rutile-TiO2 Nanoarray Homojuction for Non-Contact Sensing of TATP under Natural Light
by Yan Tang, Yuxiang Zhang, Guanshun Xie, Youxiong Zheng, Jianwei Yu, Li Gao and Bingxin Liu
Coatings 2020, 10(4), 409; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/coatings10040409 - 20 Apr 2020
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2775
Abstract
Triacetone triperoxide (TATP) is a new terrorist explosive, and most nitrogen-based sensors fail to detect TATP. Herein, a sea urchin-like TiO2-covered TiO2 nanoarray is constructed as a TATP-sensitive homojunction (HJ) by one step hydrothermal method. By taking fluorine-doped tin oxide [...] Read more.
Triacetone triperoxide (TATP) is a new terrorist explosive, and most nitrogen-based sensors fail to detect TATP. Herein, a sea urchin-like TiO2-covered TiO2 nanoarray is constructed as a TATP-sensitive homojunction (HJ) by one step hydrothermal method. By taking fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) and indium tin oxide (ITO) conducting glass as the substrate, the conducting glass is horizontally and vertically put in the reactor to epitaxially grow TiO2–FTO, TiO2–ITO, TiO2–FTO–HJ and TiO2–ITO–HJ. TiO2–FTO–HJ shows a broad absorption band edge in the visible region and high sensitivity to TATP under the simulating natural light compared with TiO2–FTO, TiO2–ITO, and TiO2–ITO–HJ. E-field intensity distribution simulation reveals that constructing homojunctions between the urchin-shaped TiO2 nanosphere and TiO2 nanoarrays can enhance the localized electromagnetic field intensity at the interface of junctions, which may provide photocatalysis active sites to reduce TATP molecules by promoting charge separation. Moreover, the TiO2–FTO–HJ shows high selectivity to TATP among ammonium nitrate, urea and sulfur, which are common homemade explosive raw materials. Full article
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10 pages, 2889 KiB  
Article
Influence of the Growth Ambience on the Localized Phase Separation and Electrical Conductivity in SrRuO3 Oxide Films
by Hsin-Ming Cheng
Coatings 2019, 9(9), 589; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/coatings9090589 - 18 Sep 2019
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2869
Abstract
Perovskite SrRuO3 (SRO) epitaxial thin films grown on SrTiO3 (STO) (001) have been synthesized using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) under a series of oxygen pressures. High quality and conductive SRO thin films on STO have been achieved at 10−1 Torr [...] Read more.
Perovskite SrRuO3 (SRO) epitaxial thin films grown on SrTiO3 (STO) (001) have been synthesized using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) under a series of oxygen pressures. High quality and conductive SRO thin films on STO have been achieved at 10−1 Torr oxygen pressure with the epitaxial relation of (110)<001>SrRuO3//(001)<010>SrTiO3. The lattice parameters of the thin films exhibit huge expansion by reducing the ambience (~10−7 Torr) during deposition, and the resistance increases by about two orders higher as compared with the low oxide pressure ones. The rise of resistivity can be ascribed to not only the deficiency of Ru elements but also the phase transformation inside SRO thin films. The correlation of growth ambience on the structural transition and corresponding resistivity of epitaxial oxide thin films have been explicitly investigated. Full article
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Review

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19 pages, 2875 KiB  
Review
High Pressure X-ray Diffraction as a Tool for Designing Doped Ceria Thin Films Electrolytes
by Sara Massardo, Alessandro Cingolani and Cristina Artini
Coatings 2021, 11(6), 724; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/coatings11060724 - 16 Jun 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2377
Abstract
Rare earth-doped ceria thin films are currently thoroughly studied to be used in miniaturized solid oxide cells, memristive devices and gas sensors. The employment in such different application fields derives from the most remarkable property of this material, namely ionic conductivity, occurring through [...] Read more.
Rare earth-doped ceria thin films are currently thoroughly studied to be used in miniaturized solid oxide cells, memristive devices and gas sensors. The employment in such different application fields derives from the most remarkable property of this material, namely ionic conductivity, occurring through the mobility of oxygen ions above a certain threshold temperature. This feature is in turn limited by the association of defects, which hinders the movement of ions through the lattice. In addition to these issues, ionic conductivity in thin films is dominated by the presence of the film/substrate interface, where a strain can arise as a consequence of lattice mismatch. A tensile strain, in particular, when not released through the occurrence of dislocations, enhances ionic conduction through the reduction of activation energy. Within this complex framework, high pressure X-ray diffraction investigations performed on the bulk material are of great help in estimating the bulk modulus of the material, and hence its compressibility, namely its tolerance toward the application of a compressive/tensile stress. In this review, an overview is given about the correlation between structure and transport properties in rare earth-doped ceria films, and the role of high pressure X-ray diffraction studies in the selection of the most proper compositions for the design of thin films. Full article
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Other

1 pages, 151 KiB  
Erratum
Erratum: Yaragani et al. Structural, Magnetic and Gas Sensing Activity of Pure and Cr Doped In2O3 Thin Films Grown by Pulsed Laser Deposition. Coatings 2021, 11, 588
by Veeraswamy Yaragani, Hari Prasad Kamatam, Karuppiah Deva Arun Kumar, Paolo Mele, Arulanandam Jegatha Christy, Kugalur Venkidusamy Gunavathy, Sultan Alomairy and Mohammed Sultan Al-Buriahi
Coatings 2021, 11(9), 1121; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/coatings11091121 - 16 Sep 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2102
Abstract
The authors wish to make the following changes to their published paper [...] Full article
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