Oxide particle densities in internally oxidised Ag-Cd alloys: Part 2 Alloys with ternary additions

Abstract

The densities of oxide particles are studied as a function of depth below the surface of internally oxidised Ag–9·5 at.-%Cd alloys with additions of ~0·2 or 2 at.-%Al, Mn, Ni, Sn, or Zn. Because of its low diffusivity and low free energy of oxide formation, Ni has no influence on particle density. Tin forms needlelike oxides and reduces the particle density as a result of geometric effects. Zinc has a marked effect on particle shape with platelike precipitates which coalesce during subsequent precipitation of CdO, but does not greatly affect particle density. Both Al and Mn increase particle density up to two orders of magnitude. Planar size distributions are presented which indicate that two types of nucleation site are present in the Mn containing alloys. In the alloy containing 0·15 at.-%Al the Al₂O₃ particles are too fine to act as nuclei for CdO precipitation; two types of band both with a narrow size distribution of CdO particles, but with slightly different size and largely different density are formed. Heterogeneous nucleation and depletion of the centre region of sample sheets, both of which result from the counterdiffusion of the oxidising elements, are shown to have a great influence on particle density, resulting in a more homogeneous distribution of particle densities over the sample cross-section than that predicted by available theories.

MST/900b     

Effect of hybridization of liquid rubber and nanosilica particles on the morphology, mechanical properties, and fracture toughness of epoxy composites

A liquid carboxyl-terminated butadiene–acrylonitrile copolymer (CTBN) and SiO₂ particles in nanosize were used to modify epoxy, and binary CTBN/epoxy composites and ternary CTBN/SiO₂/epoxy composites were prepared using piperidine as curing agent. The morphologies of the composites were observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM), and it is indicated that the size of CTBN particles increases with CTBN content in the binary composites, however, the CTBN particle size decreases with the content of nanosilica in the ternary composites. The effects of CTBN and nanosilica particles on the mechanical and fracture toughness of the composites were also investigated, it is shown that the tensile mechanical properties of the binary CTBN-modified epoxy composites can be further improved by addition of nanosilica particles, moreover, obvious improvement in fracture toughness of epoxy can be achieved by hybridization of liquid CTBN rubber and nanosilica particles. The morphologies of the fractured surface of the composites in compact tension tests were explored attentively by field emission SEM (FE-SEM), it is found that different zones (pre-crack, stable crack propagation, and fast crack zones) on the fractured surface can be obviously discriminated, and the toughening mechanism is mainly related to the stable crack propagation zone. The cavitation of the rubber particles and subsequent void growth by matrix shear deformation are the main toughening mechanisms in both binary and ternary composites.     

Foam stability in gas injection foaming process

Particle coverage ratio on bubble interface was investigated by metallographic analysis when the foam is critically stable in the gas injection foaming process. It is found that the critical coverage ratio was almost the same under different conditions, such as different particle amount, particle size, or particle wettability. The particle coverage ratio is proposed as the criterion to judge the foam stability, and a criterion equation was deduced. Adsorption coefficient of particles, effective coverage ratio of a particle and critical coverage ratio on the bubble interface are stability influencing parameters of the criterion equation. Their determination methods were presented and examined by air injection foaming of A356/Al₂O₃ melt. The adsorption coefficient calculated by measuring cross-section of foam cell wall gave values agreeing with the experimental results. The effective coverage ratio, which is about 0.9 in this article, can be calculated by combining measurements on surface and on the cross-section of the foam cell wall. The critical coverage ratio, that is about 14% in this article, can be determined by measuring the cross-section as well as the surface of the foam cell wall.     

Model filled rubber IV: Dependence of stress-strain relationship on filler particle morphology

The addition of monodisperse size crosslinked polystyrene (PS) particles, synthesized by emulsifier-free emulsion polymerization, to polysulfide matrix enhanced mechanical properties of the cured rubbery composites. The modulus, fracture strength, and elongation at break increased with increasing filler volume fraction up to 30 wt % PS particles. The strength and elongation at break decreased with increasing particle diameter from 0.315 to 1.25 m. The strength at break increased, but the extension decreased, as the particle crosslink density increased from 0 to 5 mol % DVB. Interparticle interactions are dominant and lead to the formation of clusters which form a network structure in PS particle filled composites. Since the number density, as well as the total surface area, of particles increase with decreasing particle diameter, interparticle attractions are enhanced, the tendency for cluster formation increased with decreasing particle size from 1.25 to 0.315 m. As particle crosslink density was reduced, the porosity and surface roughness of particles increased. Then, the dispersion of particles in the matrix was enhanced and particle agglomeration reduced but more polymer matrix was adsorbed on the particles. These particles or clusters act as physical crosslinks, resulting in an increased total effective crosslink density in the filled composites.     

在泡沫碳化硅载体上原位生长silicalite-1型沸石晶体

以多晶硅颗粒为硅源, 在泡沫碳化硅载体上原位水热合成silicalite--1型沸石晶体。研究了硅颗粒加入量、NaOH浓度以及合成时间等因素对沸石晶体的负载量、晶体尺寸和沸石晶体/泡沫碳化硅复合材料比表面积的影响。结果表明,
以多晶硅颗粒为硅源控制硅酸根的释放速度, 使沸石晶体在碳化硅载体表面异质界面形核, 从而实现沸石晶体在泡沫碳化硅载体表面的连续生长; 当多晶硅量过少时, 溶液中的硅酸根浓度过低, 不能在载体表面形成连续生长的沸石层;
而当多晶硅量过大时, 溶液中硅的浓度过高, 部分沸石晶体在溶液当中形核, 使沸石晶体在载体表面的负载量下降; 提高溶液中NaOH的浓度, 加快硅的溶解, 使溶液中硅的饱和浓度升高, 沸石晶体的形核率也随之升高, 使沸石晶体的负载量增加。在最优条件下制备的silicalite--1/泡沫碳化硅复合材料其沸石晶体的比表面积为81.28 m²g^-1。     

Investigation on the martensitic transformation in γ-Fe(n) nanoparticles

γ-Fe(5.90–10.9 at.% N) nanoparticles ranging in diameters from 30 to 100 nm were prepared by laser-induced pyrolysis of mixtures of Fe(CO)₅ and NH₃. During the quenching from high temperature to room temperature and even down to 4.2 K, no martensitic transformation occurred in these particles. Based on the effects of surface tension and refinement of grain size on the yield strength of the nanoparticles, the dependencies of nucleation driving force and the martensite-start temperature on the particle size was revealed, from a viewpoint of thermodynamics of martensitic transformation in the γ-Fe(N) nanoparticles. It is suggested that the yield strength increment due to the surface tension and to the very fine crystallite grains is probably the predominant aspect responsible for inhibiting the nucleation of martensite and drastic decrease of the martensite-start temperature of the nanoparticles. High pressure of 0.5–4.0 GPa were adopted to induce the martensitic transition of the γ-Fe nanoparticles. It is found that the extent of martensitic transformation increased with the increasing pressures, most individual γ-Fe particles were partially transformed to martensite after pressurization.     

Reduction of Pd catalytic particle size by a double activation process

We have used a double activation method to reduce the size of Pd catalytic particles commonly used as an activation layer for electroless Cu deposition. The method produces Pd particles with sizes reduced by a factor of 4 and density increased by a factor of 10 compared to the single activation method. The first activation and the Pd etching process in the double activation removes the native Ti oxide on TiN surface and largely increase the nucleation sites for Pd. With more nucleation sites, nucleation events outrun ripening events throughout the deposition time range. However, excessive etching of Pd and the underlying TiN layer could lead to rougher electroless Cu films. Secondary ion mass spectrometry data show that the double activation step does not increase the net amount of Pd deposited on TiN surface; it only changes its particle size and density. Electroless Cu deposited on a doubly Pd activated surface has a larger grain size and appears to have a lower resistivity.     

Microstructure and refinement mechanism of TiB2/TiAl3 in remelted Al-5Ti-1B system

In this work, we propose a new method (by remelting Al-5Ti-1B) to investigate the grain refinement mechansim. It is found that the morphology and size of TiAl₃ phase had little effect on the grain refinement of pure Al. Therefore, further experimental studies were carried out to understand the potency of TiB₂ particles. The high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) observation has confirmed the existence of an atomic layer on the surface of (0001) TiB₂, which is possibly a two-dimensional (2D) (1-12) TiAl₃. Crystallographic study indicates that it is a more suitable nucleation sites for α-Al than other particles. The TiB₂ particle with TiAl₃ 2D acts as the best effective nucleation sites for α-Al.     

机载龙伯透镜天线用聚苯乙烯泡沫塑料的制备及介电常数调控

针对雷达通讯微波频段新型轻质介电复合材料的迫切需求,开展高介电性能复合材料的研究具有现实意义。采用悬浮聚合法制备不同密度的聚苯乙烯泡沫,研究了聚苯乙烯泡沫的介电常数与密度之间的关系,分析了钛酸钡粉末的介电性能。采用干混法添加钛酸钡粉末制备介电常数可调控的轻质钛酸钡/聚苯乙烯复合泡沫。聚苯乙烯泡沫的介电常数随密度增大,表现出弱的频率依赖性和低介电损耗。钛酸钡粉末具有高的介电常数和较低的介电损耗。BaTiO_3/PS复合材料的介电常数随着BaTiO_3含量的增加而升高。相同介电常数的BaTiO_3/PS复合材料和聚苯乙烯泡沫相比,密度显著下降,说明添加BaTiO_3可以实现介电材料的轻质化。     

Foaming behavior of Ti6Al4V particle-added aluminum powder compacts

The foaming behavior of 5 wt.% Ti6Al4V (Ti64) particle (30–200 μm)-added Al powder compacts was investigated in order to assess the particle-addition effects on the foaming behavior. Al compacts without particle addition were also prepared with the same method and foamed. The expansions of Ti64 particle-added compacts were measured to be relatively low at small particle sizes and increased with increasing particle size. At highest particle size range (160–200 μm), particle-added compacts showed expansion behavior similar to that of Al compacts without particle addition, but with lower expansion values. Expansions studies on 30–45 μm size Ti64-added compacts with varying weight percentages showed that the expansion behavior of the compacts became very similar to that of Al compact when the particle content was lower than 2 wt.%. However, Ti64 addition reduced the extent of drainage. Ti64 particles and TiAl₃ particles formed during foaming increased the apparent viscosity of the liquid foam and hence reduced the flow of liquid metal from cell walls to plateau borders. The reduced foamability in the compacts with the smaller size Ti64 addition was attributed to the relatively high viscosities, due to the higher cumulative surface area of the particles and higher rate of TiAl₃ formation between liquid Al and Ti64 particles.     

用超临界二氧化碳技术制备硅橡胶/碳纳米管/炭黑复合导电泡沫材料

以超临界二氧化碳为物理发泡剂,制备出一种具有良好导电性能的硅橡胶/碳纳米管/炭黑多相复合泡沫材料。系统研究了不同碳纳米管含量及不同加工参数对硅橡胶发泡行为和最终硅橡胶泡沫材料导电性能的影响。实验结果表明,碳纳米管和炭黑在硅橡胶基体中分散良好,无明显团聚体出现。均匀分散的碳纳米管能够提高发泡时的成核密度,从而得到具有较小泡孔尺寸和较高泡孔密度的泡沫材料。研究发现随着饱和温度升高,泡孔尺寸变大,泡孔合并现象明显;随饱和压力增加,泡孔尺寸变小,泡孔密度增加,泡孔合并现象减少。不同泡孔形态对应其导电性能也有所不同,当泡孔尺寸较小,泡孔分布均匀的泡沫材料导电性能较好。     

Foam processing of polyethylene ionomers with supercritical CO2

Via a batch process, the foam processing of polyethylene-based ionomers having two different degree of the neutralization has been conducted using supercritical CO₂. The cellular structures obtained from various ranges of foaming temperature-CO₂ pressure were investigated by using field emission scanning electron microscopy. For comparison, the corresponding nano-composite also has been examined. The ionic cross-linked structure in the ionomer exhibited significant contribution to retard the cell growth and coalescence of cell, especially in ionomer having higher degree of the neutralization. For nano-composite foaming, experimentally, nano-clay particles led to an increase in cell density after foaming. However, the dispersed nano-clay particles did not act as nucleating sites for cell formation. The competitive phenomenon between the cell nucleation and the cell growth including the coalescence of cell was discussed in the light of the interfacial energy and the relaxation rate as revealed by the modified classical nucleation theory and rheological measurement, respectively.     

Mechanical properties of porous silicon by depth-sensing nanoindentation techniques

Porous silicon (PS) was prepared using the electrochemical corrosion method. Thermal oxidation of the as-prepared PS samples was performed at different temperatures for tuning their mechanical properties. The mechanical properties of as-prepared and oxidized PS were thoroughly investigated by depth-sensing nanoindentation techniques with the continuous stiffness measurements option. The morphology of as-prepared and oxidized PS was characterized by field emission scanning electron microscope and the effect of observed microstructure changes on the mechanical properties was discussed. It is shown that the hardness and Young's elastic modulus of as-prepared PS exhibit a strong dependence on the preparing conditions and decrease with increasing current density. In particular, the mechanical properties of oxidized PS are improved greatly compared with that of as-prepared ones and increase with increasing thermal oxidation temperature. The mechanism responsible for the mechanical property enhancement is possibly the formation of SiO₂ cladding layers encapsulating on the inner surface of the incompact sponge PS to decrease the porosity and strengthen the interconnected microstructure.     

Aluminum integral foam castings with microcellular cores by nano-functionalization

The goal of the present work is the refinement of the pore morphology of aluminum integral foam castings. Integral foam molding, a modified high pressure die casting process, is used where a mixture of melt and blowing agent particles (magnesium hydride, MgH₂) is injected at high velocity into a permanent steel mold. At the mold surface, decomposition of the blowing agent and pore formation is suppressed due to the high solidification rate whereas solidification of the core is much slower allowing blowing agent decomposition, pore nucleation, and growth. Blowing agent particles not only act as gas suppliers but also represent pore nuclei. Thus, microcellular foam cores can be attained by increasing the number of MgH₂ particles. But increasing the number of powder particles by powder milling strongly decreases the flowability and strong particle agglomeration as a result of the increasing cohesive forces leads to inhomogeneous foams. Flowability of the powder can be restored by coating it with SiO₂-nano-particles resulting in a homogeneous microcellular foam morphology.     

纳米二氧化硅影响水泥基材料流动性的研究综述

纳米二氧化硅比表面积大、粒径小等特点有助于其发挥火山灰活性、晶核效应和填充效应,能够促进水泥水化,有效改善水泥基材料内部结构。在所有改性水泥基材料的纳米材料中纳米二氧化硅应用最为广泛,已经成为许多研究者探究的热点,但还未见关于纳米二氧化硅影响水泥基材料流动性综述的报道。本文主要综述了粉体和溶胶两种纳米二氧化硅对水泥基材料流动性的影响、存在的问题及改性纳米二氧化硅对水泥基材料性能的影响,为今后进一步研究纳米二氧化硅改性水泥基材料提供依据。     

Behavior of pentacene initial nucleation on various dielectrics and its effect on carrier transport in organic field-effect transistor

The influence of dielectric surface energy on the initial nucleation and the growth of pentacene films as well as the electrical properties of the pentacene-based field-effect transistors are investigated. We have examined a range of organic and inorganic dielectrics with different surface energies, such as polycarbonate/SiO2, polystyrene/SiO2, and PMMA/SiO2 bi-layered dielectrics and also the bare SiO2 dielectric. Atomic force microscopy measurements of sub-monolayer and thick pentacene films indicated that the growth of pentacene film was in Stranski-Kranstanow growth mode on all the dielectrics. However, the initial nucleation density and the size of the first-layered pentacene islands deposited on different dielectrics are drastically influenced by the dielectric surface energy. With the increasing of the surface energy, the nucleation density increased and thus the average size of pentacene islands for the first mono-layer deposition decreased. The performance of fabricated pentacene-based thin film transistors was found to be highly related to nucleation density and the island size of deposited Pentacene film, and it had no relationship to the final particle size of the thick pentacene film. The field effect mobility of the thin film transistor could be achieved as high as 1.38 cm2Ns with on/off ratio over 3 x 10(7) on the PS/SiO2 where the lowest surface energy existed among all the dielectrics. For comparison, the values of mobility and on/off ratio were 0.42 cm2Ns and 1 x 10(6) for thin film transistor deposited directly on bare SiO2 having the highest surface energy.     

AN/MAA共聚物泡沫塑料泡体结构研究

通过烘箱自由发泡制备丙烯腈(AN)/甲基丙烯酸(MAA)共聚物泡沫塑料,讨论了该泡沫塑料泡孔平均孔径随泡沫塑料密度变化的规律,研究了成核剂和应力对泡沫塑料泡孔尺寸的影响,通过光学显微和电子扫描显微观察了该泡沫塑料的整体结构和微观结构.结果表明: AN/MAA共聚物泡沫塑料泡孔平均孔径随密度的增加而减小;碳酰胺能起到成核剂的作用,显著减小泡沫塑料泡孔尺寸;可发泡共聚物的应力发白现象能改善其发泡成核效果并使泡孔孔径大大减小;该共聚物泡沫塑料具有高闭孔率、各向同性的特征,其泡壁为三至七边形,泡棱由三个泡壁相交而成,泡壁体积分数随密度的增加而减小.     

Nucleation behaviour of diamond particles on silicon substrates in a hot-filament chemical vapour deposition

Diamond films and particles have been deposited on a silicon substrate using a hot-filament chemical vapour deposition (CVD) method in order to study the effect of hydrogen on the behaviour of diamond nucleation. The nucleation density of diamond was affected by both hydrogen treatment prior to deposition and filament temperature,T _f. The nucleation density was decreased markedly with increasing hydrogen-treatment time. The nucleation density also changed with increasingT _f, which increased initially and then reached a maximum at 2100°C and decreased thereafter. Etching of the substrate surface was observed and enhanced with both increasing hydrogen-treatment time and increasingT _f. The changes in nucleation behaviour were related closely to the etching of substrate surface. These results are explained in terms of the etching of nucleation sites.     

Synthesis of multilayer Nano-ZrO2 coated polystyrene spheres on fabrication of three-dimensional ordered macroporous structures

Monodispersed ZrO₂ precursor nanoparticles with a diameter of 25 nm were successfully synthesized by using diglycol as complexing reagent. The kinetic of particle growth as a function of concentration ratio of ZrOCl₂: diglycol was investigated. The as-synthesized ZrO₂ precursor nanoparticles were homogenously coated on the surface of polystyrene particles. Multilayer coating process was implemented by using poly (acrylic acid) (PAA) to modify the surface charges of the coated spheres, which was characterized by zeta-potential, particles size distribution and microstructural observation. The multilayer-coated polystyrene (PS) spheres have been used as templates to produce macroporous materials. Ordered macroporous ZrO₂ materials were obtained after the ZrO₂ precursor nanoparticles coated PS spheres were formed by centrifugation and calcined at 550°C for 3 h. The porous wall thickness could be well controlled by using the multilayer nano-ZrO₂ coated PS spheres with different coating thickness.     

Segregation Quantification of Two-Component Particulate Mixtures: Effect of Particle Size,Density, Shape,and Surface Texture

Segregation, which occurs during handling, processing, and storage of particulate material, is highly dependent on properties such as particle size, size distribution (for continuous mixtures) or size ratio (for binary mixtures), particle density, shape, and surface texture. Quantification of the relationship of material properties to segregation becomes an important link in understanding and controlling segregation. Due to lack of well-developed equipment in the market, quantification of segregation of multicomponent particulate mixtures is currently a challenge. In this study, the effects of particle size, density, shape, and surface texture of two-component particulate mixtures (glass beads and mash poultry feed) on segregation were quantified with the use of the second generation of primary segregation shear cell (PSSC-II) developed at Penn State. It was concluded that (1) irregularly shaped (nonspherical) coarse particles or higher porosity of coarse component of a binary mixture lead to higher segregation potential; (2) the higher the density and smoother the surface of the fine component of a binary mixture, the higher the segregation potential; and (3) the fine particle properties, to a certain extent, determine the particle size–related effects such as absolute size and size ratios, i.e., if fine particle properties of a binary mixture change, the size-related effect on segregation potential would definitely change.