2195铝锂合金电子束焊接头的焊后热处理

采用光学显微镜、扫描电镜、能谱仪及X射线衍射仪等微观分析手段,研究不同热处理工艺条件下2195铝锂合金电子束焊接头焊缝区的显微组织演变,探讨接头的焊后热处理强化机制。结果表明,焊后热处理可显著改善接头区域的显微组织,促进强化相的析出,有利于提高接头的力学性能。经过焊后固溶+双级时效热处理,焊态下接头熔合线附近存在的等轴细晶区消失,β′、θ′和T₁等强化相在接头焊缝区析出,与单级时效处理工艺相比,双级时效处理的析出强化效果更为显著。力学性能测试表明,经过双级时效热处理后,接头的抗拉强度达到492.5 MPa,为母材强度的90.4%。接头拉伸断口表面存在许多小韧窝,并伴随出现解理面,接头呈韧-脆混合型断裂特征。     

Porous ceramics with tailored pore size and morphology as substrates for coral larval settlement

The growing demand for stony corals as ornamental aquarium animals requires defined aquacultural breeding strategies. For the sexual propagation of corals, material substrates are needed, that attract larvae and support their settlement and development. In this study, five types of highly porous ceramic materials were developed following the example of coral skeleton. The applicability of these settlement substrates was tested using larvae of the stony coral Pocillopora damicornis. Partial sintering of pressed clay pellets, freeze casting of clay and alumina-mullite based slurries and direct foaming of high alkane phase emulsified suspensions (HAPES) using alumina were employed. By the addition of mm-sized spherical polystyrene beads as sacrificial templates during freeze casting (alumina-mullite), superficial pores in the size of the larvae were created. The inorganic substrates featured open porosities between 35% (pressed clay) and 83% (foamed alumina), pore sizes ranging from nm to mm-scale and pore morphologies dominated by interparticle porosity (pressed), lamellar pores (freeze casting) and cellular pore types (direct foaming). The ceramic substrates were incubated in artificial sea water for 3 months to induce necessary biofilm formation and algae growth. Afterwards, individual substrates were exposed to 5 coral larvae, and their settlement behavior was monitored over 14 days. At the end of this period, all ceramic materials were successfully accepted as settlement substrates, with a mean settlement rate of 46.2%, and no significant differences between the substrate types. On samples with large surface superficial pores, a significantly reduced survival of settled larvae (79%) compared to the other porous materials (93–98%) was determined, suggesting a non-ideal surface topography. While alumina foam samples (HAPES) exhibit the most promising results in terms of settlement and survival of larvae, clay-based substrates provide a more economic solution for the sexual propagation of corals in aquaculture.     

Electron Paramagnetic Resonance and Magnetic Circular Dichroism Spectra of the Nitrogenase M Cluster Precursor Suggest Sulfur Migration upon Oxidation: A Proposal for Substrate and Inhibitor Binding

The active site of the nitrogen-fixing enzyme Mo-nitrogenase is the M cluster ([MoFe₇S₉C ⋅ R-homocitrate]), also known as the FeMo cofactor or FeMoco. The biosynthesis of this highly complex metallocluster involves a series of proteins. Among them, NifB, a radical-SAM enzyme, is instrumental in the assembly of the L cluster ([Fe₈S₉C]), a precursor and all-iron core of the M cluster. In the absence of sulfite, NifB assembles a precursor form of the L cluster called the L* cluster ([Fe₈S₈C]), which lacks the final ninth sulfur. EPR and MCD spectroscopies are used to probe the electronic structures of the paramagnetic, oxidized forms of both the L and L* clusters, labeled L^Ox and [ L* ] ^Ox . This study shows that both L^Ox and [ L* ] ^Ox have nearly identical EPR and MCD spectra, thus suggesting that the two clusters have identical structures upon oxidation; in other words, a sulfur migrates away from L^Ox following oxidation, thereby rendering the cluster identical to [ L* ] ^Ox . It is proposed that a similar migration could occur to the M cluster upon oxidation, and that this is an instrumental part of both M cluster formation and nitrogenase substrate/inhibitor binding.     

电子束诱导沉积钴微米线及其铁磁性

通过电子束诱导沉积的方法制备了钴(Co)微米线,并利用扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、原子力/磁力显微镜(AFM/MFM)以及物性测量系统(PPMS)等手段对Co微米线的沉积尺寸、微结构、铁磁性和电学性质进行了测试和分析。研究结果表明:Co微米线轮廓清晰、均匀性好。在不同的沉积条件下,微米线的实际长度与设定长度基本一致;实际宽度数据呈类梯形分布,半高宽是设定值的2~10倍;实际厚度低于设定厚度的60%。沉积电流对Co微米线的铁磁特性有重要影响。当沉积电流大于0.5 nA时,样品呈现出良好的铁磁特性。另外,电学性能测试结果显示Co微米线呈现绝缘特性。成功制备了室温铁磁绝缘Co微米线,这将有助于深入开展微纳尺度的结构与器件的研究和应用。     

Synthesis and two-step sintering behavior of solution derived corundum abrasives with plate-like grains

Corundum abrasives with plate-like grains were fabricated by a two-step sintering technique using the solution-based process with the addition of the ternary compound additive Na₃AlF₆-CaO-SiO₂. The two-step sintering method showed obvious advantages over conventional sintering methods in promoting sample densification, suppressing grain growth, and homogenizing the microstructure of the corundum abrasives. The sample doped with 2.5?wt% Na₃AlF₆ and 4?wt% CaO + SiO₂ in the molar ratio of 1:1 possessed a relative density of 99.3%, average grain size of 0.54?µm, and single-particle compressive strength of 49?N. The introduction of seeds reduced the temperature of θ- to α-Al₂O₃ phase transformation. The relationship between the microstructure and the mechanical properties of the abrasives was also discussed.     

Electron tomography: An imaging method for materials deformation dynamics

The combination of in-situ and three-dimensional (3D) in transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is one of the emerging topics of recent advanced electron microscopy research. However, to date, there have been only handful examples of in-situ 3D TEM for material deformation dynamics. In this article, firstly, the authors briefly review technical developments in fast tilt-series dataset acquisition, which is a crucial technique for in-situ electron tomography (ET). Secondly, the authors showcase a recent successful example of in-situ specimen-straining and ET system development and its applications to the deformation dynamics of crystalline materials. The system is designed and developed to explore, in real-time and at sub-microscopic levels, the internal behavior of polycrystalline materials subjected to external stresses, and not specifically targeted for atomic resolution (although it may be possible). Technical challenges toward the in-situ ET observation of 3D dislocation dynamics are discussed for commercial structural crystalline materials, including some of the early studies on in-situ ET imaging and 3D modeling of dislocation dynamics. A short summary of standing technical issues and a proposed guideline for further development in the 3D imaging method for dislocation dynamics are then discussed.