Micropyretic Synthesis of Refractory Metal Intermetallic Compounds

Abstract

The processing of refractory metal intermetallic compounds by micropyretic synthesis has been discussed in this article. The advantages of this process have been elaborated with the synthesis of intermetallic compounds in view. Microstructures of the synthesized alloys have been examined in detail and compared with the conventionally produced microstructure. The effect of different process parameters on the process and on the synthesized microstructure has been described. Special emphasis is given on the synthesis of aluminides of Nb and Ti and NiTi. The mechanism of micropyretic synthesis of the aforementioned intermetallic compounds from elemental powders has been studied by arresting the synthesis process midway. This has resulted in preservation of the unsynthesized material on one side, the fully synthesized material on the other and intermediate stages of synthesis frozen in between. A detailed microstructural characterization has been carried out around the arrested synthesis front in order to establish the sequence of synthesis.     

Transition metal oxides on organic semiconductors

Transition metal oxides (TMOs) on organic semiconductors (OSs) structure has been widely used in inverted organic optoelectronic devices, including inverted organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) and inverted organic solar cells (OSCs), which can improve the stability of such devices as a result of improved protection of air sensitive cathode. However, most of these reports are focused on the anode modification effect of TMO and the nature of TMO-on-OS is not fully understood. Here we show that the OS on TMO forms a two-layer structure, where the interface mixing is minimized, while for TMO-on-OS, due to the obvious diffusion of TMO into the OS, a doping-layer structure is formed. This is evidenced by a series of optical and electrical studies. By studying the TMO diffusion depth in different OS, we found that this process is governed by the thermal property of the OS. The TMO tends to diffuse deeper into the OS with a lower evaporation temperature. It is shown that the TMO can diffuse more than 20 nm into the OS, depending on the thermal property of the OS. We also show that the TMO-on-OS structure can replace the commonly used OS with TMO doping structure, which is a big step toward in simplifying the fabrication process of the organic optoelectronic devices.     

Hydrogen production from low temperature WGS reaction on co-precipitated Cu–CeO2 catalysts: An optimization of Cu loading

Low temperature water–gas shift (WGS) reaction has been carried out at the gas hourly space velocity of 72,152 h⁻¹ over Cu–CeO₂ catalyst prepared by a co-precipitation method. Cu loading was optimized to obtain highly active co-precipitated Cu–CeO₂ catalysts for low temperature WGS. 80 wt% Cu–CeO₂ exhibited the highest CO conversion as well as the most stable activity (X_CO > 46% at 240 °C for 100 h). The excellent catalytic performance is mainly due to a strong metal to support interaction, resulting in the prevention of Cu sintering.     

WO3/BiVO4 composite photoelectrode prepared by improved auto-combustion method for highly efficient water splitting

We report on the improvement in the water splitting efficiency of a WO₃/BiVO₄ composite photoelectrode by the application of an improved auto-combustion method to the preparation of porous BiVO₄ thin films. The unique feature of this preparation method is the addition of both NH₄NO₃, as a strong oxidizing agent, and an organic additive into BiVO₄ precursor solution. The local decomposition heat of the organic additive and oxidizing agent created a porous film with small, highly crystalline BiVO₄ particles. The photoelectrode has many advantages over existing ones, such as the high light-harvesting efficiency (LHE), a single BiVO₄ phase, the facile access of the holes to the photoelectrode/electrolyte interface, and the ease of water and oxygen diffusion. The maximum incident photon-to-current efficiency (IPCE) was estimated to be 64% (at 440 nm, 1.23 V vs. RHE) and the applied bias photon-tocurrent efficiency (ABPE) reached as high as 1.28%. This ABPE value is highest among all oxide semiconductor photoelectrodes reported previously, except for the case of a stacking photoelectrode system.     

The effect of transition metal ions (M2+=Mn2+, Ni2+, Co2+, Cu2+) on the chemical synthesis polyaniline as counter electrodes in dye-sensitized solar cells

The effect of transition metal ions(M~(2+)=Mn~(2+),Ni~(2+),Co~(2+),Cu~(2+)) on the chemical synthesis of polyaniline(PANI) used as a platinum-free counter electrode(CE) in dye-sensitized solar cells(DSSCs) was investigated.PANI was synthesized by co-polymerization of aniline in the presence of different transition metal ions by using potassium dichromate in acidic medium. It was found that the ion doping of PANI showed a certain catalytic activity for the regeneration of traditional iodide/triiodide(I~-/I_3~-) redox couples. The power conversion efficiency(η) of PANI CEs doped with Mn~(2+),Ni~(2+),Co~(2+) (4.41%, 2.36% and 2.10%, respectively) were higher than 1.94%, the value measured for PANI CE without doping. Doping with Cu~(2+)decreased the power conversion efficiency of PANI CE(PANI-Cu~(2+) η = 1.41%). The electrical properties of the PANI, PANI-Ni~(2+), PANI-Co~(2+),PANI-Mn~(2+) and PANI-Cu~(2+) were studied by cyclic voltammetry(CV), impedance(EIS), and Tafel polarization curve. The experimental results confirmed that PANI was affected by the doping of different transition metal ions(M~(2+)=Mn~(2+),Ni~(2+),Co~(2+),Cu~(2+)). These results indicate a potential application of ion doped PANI as counter electrode in cost-effective DSSCs.     

硼颗粒的包覆机理及工艺研究进展

阐述了不同包覆材料对硼颗粒的包覆机理,从5个方面总结了硼颗粒包覆材料的选取原则,包括:去除硼颗粒表面氧化膜、提高燃烧温度、降低硼的点火温度、提高表面相容性、催化硼颗粒的氧化反应。总结了沉淀法、表面反应包覆法、高分子吸附聚合法、气相包覆法和机械球磨法等多种硼颗粒包覆工艺的研究状况,分析并比较了不同工艺的作用机理和实际应用效果。介绍了现代硼颗粒表面包覆效果测试技术的特点和应用范围。评述了目前硼颗粒包覆技术的研究现状和不足,并对未来的研究方向进行了展望。     

Investigations of electrically driven liquid metal flows using an ultrasound Doppler flow mapping system

This paper presents a combined experimental and numerical study of the properties of a liquid metal flow inside a cylinder driven by the application of a strong electrical current. The interaction between the electric current running through the melt and the corresponding induced magnetic field produces so-called electro-vortex flows. We consider here a configuration of two parallel pencil electrodes immersed at the free surface. Velocity measurements were performed by means of the Ultrasound Doppler method. A linear array of 25 singular transducers was used to determine the two-dimensional pattern of the vertical flow component. Numerical simulations of the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) problem were conducted to calculate the Lorentz force, the Joule heating and the induced melt flow. Experimental and numerical results reveal a complex three-dimensional flow structure of the liquid metal flow. In particular, two pronounced downward jets are formed below both electrodes. The flow structure appears to be symmetrical with respect to two vertical cross sections being perpendicular to each other and one of the two planes contains the electrodes. The comparison between the experimental data and the numerical results shows a very good agreement.