New insight into the formation and oxygen barrier mechanism of carbonaceous oxide interlayer in a multicomponent carbide

Early transition metal carbides are considered to be superior candidate materials for oxidizing environments at temperatures exceeding 2000°C. Generally, the remarkable oxidation resistance is largely attributed to a carbonaceous oxide interlayer (eg, Hf–O–C, Zr–O–C, and Ta–O–C), located at the interface between the external oxide layer and internal carbide (eg, HfC, ZrC, and TaC), acting as the primary oxygen barrier. However, the oxygen barrier mechanism of the carbonaceous oxide interlayer remains unclear. Herein, through studying the oxidation behavior of a novel multicomponent carbide Hf_0.5Zr_0.3Ti_0.2C in oxidizing environments up to 2500°C, the oxygen barrier mechanism of the carbonaceous oxide was recently revealed. We found that the oxygen barrier resulted from the slow oxygen diffusion through the inner grains of Hf-Zr–Ti–O due to the presence of carbon formed at the grain boundaries because of the existence of compact external oxide layer, beneath which the Hf–Zr–Ti–O–C interlayer possesses much lower oxygen activity and temperature that allow carbon to exist stably. This as-formed carbon strongly retarded the fast diffusion of oxygen along the grain boundaries of oxides. Additionally, desirable synergisms of the designed multicomponent system, particularly, the outward short-circuit diffusion of Ti, lead to the self-healing of the external oxide layer, evidently enhancing integral protection performance against oxidizing environments.     

Improved thermal conductivity of β-Si3N4 ceramics by lowering SiO2/Y2O3 ratio using YH2 as sintering additive

A two-step sintering process was conducted to produce β-Si₃N₄ ceramics with high thermal conductivity. During the first step, native SiO₂ was eliminated, and Y₂O₃ was in situ generated by a metal hydride reduction process, resulting in a high Y₂O₃/SiO₂ ratio. The substitution YH₂ for Y₂O₃ endow Si₃N₄ ceramics with an increase of 29% in thermal conductivity from 95.3 to 123 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹ after sintered at 1900°C for 12 hours despite an inferior sinterability. This was primarily attributed to the purified enlarged grains, devitrified grain boundary phase, and reduced lattice oxygen content in the YH₂-MgO-doped material.     

Polydimethylsiloxane/monomer casting nylon copolymers: Preparation,flame-retardant properties,and wear-resistant properties

In order to improve the toughness, wear resistance, and combustion properties of the monomer casting nylon (MC nylon) materials, the polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) segment is bonded to the nylon molecular chain by copolymerization. PDMS/MC nylon copolymers are prepared via in situ anionic polymerization with macro-activator based on PDMS terminated with hexamethylene diisocyanate. The effects of different macro-activator content on the mechanical properties, water absorption, thermal stability, friction and wear properties, and combustion properties of the copolymers are characterized. The results show that the impact strength of the copolymer improves significantly (optimally increases by 2.6 times) and the water absorption rate decreases with the increase of PDMS content. The introduction of the silicon–oxygen structure reduces the peak heat release rate of copolymer materials (optimally decreases about 28.7%), while it promotes the decomposition of the system, resulting in a slight decrease in the thermal stability of the materials. Adding 5 wt % PDMS can decrease the wear loss of MC nylon from 6.2 mg of pure nylon to 1.6 mg. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020 , 137, 48753.     

石墨烯增强铜基复合材料的制备技术及发展

石墨烯由于其独特的二维结构和优异的物化性能,在改善复合材料的力学性能、电学性能和热学性能等方面具有很大的潜力,已成为金属基复合材料较理想的增强体。铜合金具有优异的导电导热性能和良好的延展性,但是其强度较低、不耐磨及高温下易变形的特点阻碍了其应用和发展。因此,结合石墨烯和铜的性能特点,将石墨烯作为增强体添加到铜中,制备性能优异的石墨烯增强铜基复合材料成为目前研究的热点之一。综述了目前石墨烯增强铜基复合材料的制备方法,并对各方法的特点进行了分析比较,提出未来可采用的制备工艺的方向以及在制备过程中面临的问题和挑战,并对其未来的研究方向进行了展望。     

Microstructure Evolutions and Properties of Al-Cu Alloy Joint in the Pulsed Power Ultrasonic-Assisted GMAW

The pulsed power ultrasonic-assisted gas metal arc welding (PU-GMAW) is a new development hybrid welding method. The influences of the pulsed power ultrasonic on the microstructure evolution of the welded joint of Al-Cu alloy were investigated by using scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscope and electron back scattering diffraction. The results showed that the efficient heat input in the PU-GMAW was increased by above 100% compared with the traditional GMAW. The grain and eutectic of the PU-GMAW weld seam were refined compared with that of the GMAW. Cavitation and acoustic streaming induced the dendrite fragmentation (α-Al) and heterogeneous nucleation, which were the main reasons for the grain refinement. The microhardness of the PU-GMAW welded joint was improved compared with that of the GMAW owing to the change of the eutectic and grain.     

The sound absorption performance of the highly porous silica ceramics prepared using freeze casting method

Highly porous silica ceramics with unidirectional pores were prepared using the freeze casting method. By adjusting the solid content and freezing temperature, the porosity of the ceramics was tailored in the range of 78.20%-84.59% and pore size in the range of 8.4-71.4 μm, respectively. Sound absorption properties of porous silica ceramics was studied and the effect of structural factors was systematically investigated. The results showed that higher porosity and smaller pores of the porous ceramics favored the sound absorption in the entire sound wave frequency. By backing the sample with small pore size porous ceramics, the sound absorption property was enhanced, particularly in the low and medium frequency range, thus the sound absorption peak shifted towards lower frequency. The presence of air gap in the back would also favor sound absorption in low and medium frequency range. The as-fabricated porous silica ceramics owed excellent sound absorption properties due to their unidirectional pores and low flow resistances.     

Characteristics of as-prepared biochar derived from catalytic pyrolysis within moderate-temperature ionic liquid for CO2 uptake

A promising biochar as solid adsorbent for CO₂ uptake was prepared by the catalytic pyrolysis of coconut shell in moderate-temperature ionic liquid (IL). Then, it was characterized by means of SEM, EDS, BPEA, BET, NLDFT, FTIR, and TG-DSC, and a mechanism interpretation of the porous biochar formation was conducted. In addition, the adsorption characteristics of CO₂ on the as-prepared biochar, such as adsorption capacity, adsorption potential, isosteric heat, and static selectivity at different adsorption temperatures and pressures, were systematically evaluated. The results indicated that the as-prepared biochar exhibited an adequate CO₂ adsorption with a capacity of 4.5 mmol/g at 273 K and 100 kPa. Then, a significant number of slit-like pores were revealed to exist on the as-prepared biochar with a peak pore size between a range of 0.6 nm-2 nm. The porous structure formation was ascribed to the release of carbon-, hydrogen-, oxygen-, sulphur-, and nitrogen-containing compounds during biochar preparation. Meanwhile, both the adsorption potential and isosteric heat of the CO₂ uptake under the tested conditions decreased with an increase in the adsorption capacity, which ranged from 33 kJ/mol-21 kJ/mol and 23 kJ/mol-7 kJ/mol, respectively. Therefore, the isosteric heat could be considered as a piecewise function of adsorption capacity. In addition, the molar ratios of CO₂ over N₂ adsorbed under the tested conditions were above 11 and were accompanied by molar ratio peaks of 26 at 273 K and 19 at 298 K, respectively. Moreover, an interesting phenomenon occurred: the static adsorptive selectivity of CO₂ over N₂ first increased and then decreased and there was an increase in the adsorption pressure at the tested adsorption temperatures.     

Co-doping effects of (Al,Ti, Mg) on the microstructure and electrical behavior of ZnO-based ceramics

Co-doped ZnO-based ceramics using Al, Ti, and Mg ions in different ratios were synthesized with the objective to investigate the doping effects on the crystalline features, microstructure and the electrical behavior. For Al and Ti doping, a coexistence of crystalline phases was shown with a major wurtzite ZnO structure and secondary spinel phases (ZnAl₂O₄, Zn₂TiO₄, or Zn_aTi_bAl_cO_d), while Mg doping did not alter significantly the structural features of the wurtzite ZnO phase. The electrical behavior induced by Al, Ti, and Mg co-doping in different ratios was investigated using Raman, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and ²⁷Al and ⁶⁷Zn solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Al doping induces a high electrical conductivity compared to other doping elements. In particular, shallow donors from Zn_i-Al_Zn defect structures are inferred from the characteristic NMR signal at about 185 ppm; that is, quite far from the usual oxygen coordinated Al. The Knight shift effect emanating from a highly conducting Al-doped ZnO ceramics was considered as the origin of this observation. Oppositely, as Ti doping leads to the formation of secondary spinel phases, EPR analysis shows a high concentration of Ti³⁺ ions which limit the electrical conductivity. The correlation between the structural features at the local order, the involved defects and the electrical behavior as function of the doping process are discussed.     

Analytical attractive functions and their derivatives in bulk and nanoconfined pores

In this paper, two new analytical attractive (alpha) functions and their derivatives in bulk and nanoconfined pores are developed based on the virial equation of state (EOS) and statistical thermodynamics and are evaluated at different conditions for the first time. A cubic EOS is modified to nanometer scale and applied to predict the thermodynamic and phase properties in bulk and nanoconfined pores coupled with the new analytical alpha functions. The nanoscale-extended EOS coupled with the analytical alpha functions are validated to be accurate by means of the experimental data for the thermodynamic and phase calculations. The alpha functions and dimensionless attractive term A for the O₂, Ar, CO₂, N₂, and C₁-C₁₀ are always positive and monotonically decrease with the temperature increases at T ≤ 2000 K in the bulk phase, whereas the second virial coefficients (B₂) are always negative and increase with the temperature increases. Moreover, the alpha functions, A, and B₂ for all of components remain constant with the decreasing pore radius until r_p = 50 nm, the former two of which decrease while the latter one increases by further reducing the pore radius. It should be noted that the intermolecular attractive force (ie, A) is a function of the pressure, which is gradually increased at P ≤ 10 MPa though drastically increases afterwards. Also, the enhanced confinement effects lead the same-component intermolecular attractive forces to be smaller. The analytical formulations in the SRK type slightly outperform in the gaseous or light component cases, while those in the PR type are better for the heavy component cases in terms of the thermodynamic property calculations, both of which are compatible with the modified EOS and analytical alpha functions.     

The effects of thermoresponsive microgel density on cell adhesion,proliferation, and detachment

In recent years, poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-based microgels have been emerged as a new thermoresponsive coating for cell/cell sheet harvesting, yet few work reports their effect on cell attachment, morphology, activity, and proliferation in details. In this work, poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-styrene) (pNIPAAmSt) microgel was selected as the model to study its density on NIH3T3 cell adhesion, morphology, activity, and detachment. Results showed that 0.5 wt % pNIPAAmSt microgel density leads to more cells adhesion, higher cell activity yet lower cell proliferation. Moreover, cell adhesion location can be well controlled either by manipulating the sub-cellular scale distances between microgels or by fabricating large scale surface patterns of the microgels on higher microgel density. By temperature stimuli, similar ratio cells detached from the microgel density surface from 0.5 to 1.5 wt %. The results in this article are worthy for the application of thermoresponsive microgels in cell regulation. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020 , 137, 48773.