Cathode plasma electrolytic deposition of Al2O3 coatings doped with SiC particles

Semiconductor particles doped Al₂O₃ coatings were prepared by cathode plasma electrolytic deposition in Al(NO₃)₃ electrolyte dispersed with SiC micro- and nano-particles (average particle sizes of 0.5–1.7?µm and 40?nm respectively). The effects of the concentrations and particle sizes of the SiC on the microstructures and tribological performances of the composite coatings were studied. In comparison with the case of dispersing with SiC microparticles, the dispersion of SiC nanoparticles in the coatings was more uniform. When the concentration of SiC nanoparticles was 5?g/L, the surface roughness of the composite coating was reduced by 63%, compared with that of the unmodified coating. Friction results demonstrated that the addition of 5?g/L SiC nanoparticles reduced the friction coefficient from 0.60 to 0.38 and decreased the wear volume under dry friction. The current density and bath voltage were measured to analyze the effects of SiC particles on the deposition process. The results showed that the SiC particles could alter the electrical behavior of the coatings during the deposition process, weaken the bombardment of the plasma, and improve the structures of the coatings.     

AB-BNCT中子靶物理设计分析

质子加速器适用于为硼中子俘获治疗提供中子源，其中子源强及能谱较反应堆中子源更具可调性。中子靶物理计算分析是加速器中子源设计的基础，为其提供粒子能量、流强等参数需求分析，并为靶体结构尺寸设计、中子慢化和屏蔽分析等提供前端参数。本文利用MCNPX蒙特卡罗程序，通过对质子打靶的中子产额和能谱、靶体能量沉积、打靶后靶材放射性活度和中子出射空间角分布等进行研究，提出能量2.5 MeV质子轰击100～200 μm锂靶的设计，并用模拟计算数据论证其合理性。该设计中子源在1 mA流强质子轰击下，源强可达9.74×10¹¹ s^-1；拟设计15 mA、2.5 MeV质子束产生的中子源，在治疗过程中靶材放射性活度累积最大值约为1.44×10¹³ Bq。     

Microstructure and corrosion behaviors of FeCrNiBSiMox stainless steel fabricated by laser melting deposition

In this paper, FeCrNiBSiMo_x (x = 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5) stainless steels were successfully prepared using a laser melting deposition technology, with the aim to investigate the effect of Mo content on microstructure and corrosion behaviors. The results showed that the as-deposited specimens were composed mostly of α-Fe and a small amount of (Cr, Mo)₇C₃, and (Cr, Mo)₇C₃ existed in the inter-dendritic (ID) region. As the Mo content increased, grain refinement could be clearly observed, and the area of the ID region increased from 27% to 54%. The low-angle boundaries accounted for 60–70% of the grain boundaries of the as-deposited specimens. Increasing the content of Mo improved the microhardness of the as-deposited specimens from 652 HV to 813 HV. The corrosion current density of the as-deposited specimens with the Mo mass fractions of 1.0%, 1.5%, 2.0%, and 2.5% were 1.37 × 10⁻⁶, 1.02 × 10⁻⁷, 6.19 × 10⁻⁷, and 3.06 × 10⁻⁷ A/cm², respectively. The as-deposited specimen with Mo content of 1.5% had lower cumulative erosion loss and erosion loss rate than other as-deposited specimens. The FeCrNiBSiMo_x (x = 1.5) specimen exhibited excellent resistance to electrochemical corrosion and cavitation erosion.     

Comparative study of Ti-C-Ni-Al,Ti-C-Ni-Fe,and Ti-C-Ni-Al/Ti-C-Ni-Fe coatings produced by magnetron sputtering,electro-spark deposition,and a combined two-step process

Comparative study of Ti-C-Ni-Fe, Ti-C-Ni-Al, and Ti-C-Ni-Al/Ti-C-Ni-Fe coatings obtained by electro-spark deposition (ESD) using TiCNi electrode, magnetron sputtering (MS) of TiCNiAl target, and a combination of these methods (MS-ESD) was carried out. The coating microstructures and elemental compositions were studied by means of X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, and glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy. The materials were tested in terms of their hardness, elastic modulus, elastic recovery, crack resistance, friction coefficient, and wear resistance under sliding, impact and abrasive conditions, as well as corrosion- and oxidation resistance. The work demonstrated that the utilization of a combined two-step MS-ESD technology permits to obtain bilayers made of Ti-C-Ni-Al/Ti-C-Ni-Fe coatings with improved crack-, wear- and oxidation resistance compared with their single-layered Ti-C-Ni-Al counterparts deposited by MS, and with reduced friction coefficient and enhanced corrosion resistance compared with ESD Ti-C-Ni-Fe coatings.     

Photophoretic Levitation of Macroscopic Nanocardboard Plates

Scaling down miniature rotorcraft and flapping-wing flyers to sub-centimeter dimensions is challenging due to complex electronics requirements, manufacturing limitations, and the increase in viscous damping at low Reynolds numbers. Photophoresis, or light-driven fluid flow, was previously used to levitate solid particles without any moving parts, but only with sizes of 1–20 µm. Here, architected metamaterial plates with 50 nm thickness are leveraged to realize photophoretic levitation at the millimeter to centimeter scales. Instead of creating lift through conventional rotors or wings, the nanocardboard plates levitate due to light-induced thermal transpiration through microchannels within the plates, enabled by their extremely low mass and thermal conductivity. At atmospheric pressure, the plates hover above a solid substrate at heights of ≈0.5 mm by creating an air cushion beneath the plate. Moreover, at reduced pressures (10–200 Pa), the increased speed of thermal transpiration through the plate's channels creates an air jet that enables mid-air levitation and allows the plates to carry small payloads heavier than the plates themselves. The macroscopic metamaterial structures demonstrate the potential of this new mechanism of flight to realize nanotechnology-enabled flying vehicles without any moving parts in the Earth's upper atmosphere and at the surface of other planets.     

Effect of deposition modes on electron beam directed energy deposited inconel 718

Inconel 718 thin walls were fabricated via electron beam directed energy deposition (EB-EDE) to investigated their microstructure and mechanical properties in terms of the deposition modes. Results revealed that the deposition modes had great effects on the microstructural evolution and thus influenced the mechanical properties. The layered nature and the fine dendrites were produced by the intermittent deposition, while the coarse and irregular cellular crystals were formed under the continuous deposition. The harmful Laves phase was precipitated under both deposition modes. The microhardness and tensile strength of the build-ups deposited intermittently were higher because there were fewer Laves phase. This work provided a new perspective to explain the microstructure differences of multi-layered components formed by EB-DED.     

Facile Morphological Qualification of Transferred Graphene by Phase-Shifting Interferometry

Post-growth graphene transfer to a variety of host substrates for circuitry fabrication has been among the most popular subjects since its successful development via chemical vapor deposition in the past decade. Fast and reliable evaluation tools for its morphological characteristics are essential for the development of defect-free transfer protocols. The implementation of conventional techniques, such as Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and transmission electron microscopy in production quality control at an industrial scale is difficult because they are limited to local areas, are time consuming, and their operation is complex. However, through a one-shot measurement within a few seconds, phase-shifting interferometry (PSI) successfully scans ≈1 mm² of transferred graphene with a vertical resolution of ≈0.1 nm. This provides crucial morphological information, such as the surface roughness derived from polymer residues, the thickness of the graphene, and its adhesive strength with respect to the target substrates. Graphene samples transferred via four different methods are evaluated using PSI, Raman spectroscopy, and AFM. Although the thickness of the nanomaterials measured by PSI can be highly sensitive to their refractive indices, PSI is successfully demonstrated to be a powerful tool for investigating the morphological characteristics of the transferred graphene for industrial and research purposes.     

A large-grain-size thick-film polycrystalline diamond detector for x-ray detection

A diamond film with a size of 6 × 6 × 0.5 mm³ is fabricated by electron-assisted chemical vapor deposition. Raman spectrum analysis, x-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope images confirm the high purity and large grain size, which is larger than 300 μm. Its resistivity is higher than ${10}^{12}\,{\rm{\Omega }}\cdot {\rm{cm}}.$ Interlaced-finger electrodes are imprinted onto the diamond film to develop an x-ray detector. Ohmic contact is confirmed by checking the linearity of its current–voltage curve. The dark current is lower than 0.1 nA under an electric field of 30 kV cm⁻¹. The time response is 220 ps. The sensitivity is about 125 mA W⁻¹ under a biasing voltage of 100 V. A good linear radiation dose rate is also confirmed. This diamond detector is used to measure x-ray on a Z-pinch, which has a double-layer 'nested tungsten wire array'. The pronounced peaks in the measured waveform clearly characterize the x-ray bursts, which proves the performance of this diamond detector.     

Fabrication of BSCF-based mixed oxide ionic-electronic conducting multi-layered membrane by sequential electrophoretic deposition process

The Ba_0.5Sr_0.5Co_0.8Fe_0.2O_3-δ (BSCF)-based multi-layered oxygen separation membrane was fabricated by the sequential electrophoretic deposition (EPD) process. A thin porous/dense bi-layer of BSCF was formed on a thick porous support of BSCF. The porous support prepared by a sacrificial template method using BSCF powder mixed with wheat starch (30 wt%) as a pore-forming agent, followed by uniaxial pressing and low-temperature sintering, was directly used as an EPD electrode. A thin BSCF layer was first formed on the porous support, and then a thin BSCF + PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate) layer was sequentially formed on the thin BSCF layer using a bimodal suspension of BSCF and PMMA. A 30-μm thin porous/dense bi-layer of BSCF of which the total thickness was obtained by optimizing the processes of EPD and subsequent co-sintering. The oxygen separation performance of 3.7 ml (STP) min^?1 cm^?2 at 860 °C was achieved for the BSCF-based multi-layered oxygen separation membrane.     

Nano-Al doped-MoO3 high-energy composite films with excellent hydrophobicity and thermal stability

Developing the thermal stability of metal-based ceramic composites or their films has always been challenging and bottlenecks for the utilization of energy. In this paper, the novel mesh-like functional Al doped-MoO₃ nanocomposite film with even distribution and high purity was firstly fabricated by the high-efficiency electrophoretic deposition and surface modification. The optimal suspension turned out to be the mixture of isopropanol and the additives of polyethyleneimine and benzoic acid. The microtopography, crystalline structure, environmental resistance and thermal stability were analyzed by field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), exposure and droplet-impacting test, DSC analysis and ignition test, respectively. The water contact angle and sliding angle of product can reach ~170° and <1°, indicating the excellent anti-wetting property. In addition, the high heat-release (~3180 J/g) of product all kept almost unchangeable after six months exposure experiments, demonstrating the outstanding thermostability. The exquisite design idea here can perfectly match microelectromechanical system (MEMS), providing the valuable reference for fabricating other metal-based high-energy composites with long lifespan for real industrial applications.