Impact of the SiC addition on the morphological,structural and mechanical properties of Cu-SiC composite powders prepared by high energy milling

The effect of the SiC content on the microstructural, mechanical, and magnetic properties of Cu(1 − x)SiC(x) composite powders (x = 0, 2, 10 and 15 wt%) prepared by high energy milling for 30 h was investigated. The results showed that Cu particles were severely deformed and formed plate like particles of different sizes, while SiC particles were fragmented and embedded in the Cu phase, thus, forming composite particles. As the SiC content increased, the average particle size decreased from 40.75 to 12.84 µm. Besides, XRD data showed a decrease in the crystallite sizes of the Cu phase (from 23.66 to 21.56 nm), accompanied by an increase in the lattice micro-strain (from 0.41 to 0.46%). Changes in the lattice parameters of the Cu phase were observed. The Vickers microhardness were measured in compacted powder samples and reached a maximum value of 135.22 HV for the sample with 15 wt% SiC. The samples showed hysteresis magnetic behavior at 300 K, and with a maximum saturation magnetization of 0.123 emu/g. The weak magnetic signal is mainly due to Co impurities present in the WC from the milling media.     

Influence of ball milling duration on the morphology,features of the structural-phase state and microhardness of 3Ni-Al powder mixture

The features of changes in the morphology, structural-phase state and microhardness of 3Ni-Al powder mixture after different duration of high-energy ball-milling have been studied. Three main stages of the evolution of the structural-phase state were revealed, which, corresponding to different duration of treatment, differ in the morphology of the powder mixture, distribution of components, phase compositions and the nature of changes in microhardness. It was found that under high-energy ball-milling conditions, the synthesis of intermetallic Ni₃Al and NiAl phases begins at much lower temperatures compared to the phase diagram. It is shown that an increase in the duration of high-energy ball-milling is accompanied by a transformation of the phase composition, the features of which determine the level of strengthening of the powder mixture studied.     

In-situ repair of composite palladium membranes with macro defects: A case study

A new method was developed for repairing Pd/Al₂O₃ membranes with macro defects without the need of disassembling the membrane from the module. In order to target and fill the membrane defect automatically with solid particles, a TiO₂ powder was firstly tested by flowing high-pressure nitrogen as a carrier gas, followed by a heat treatment. A filter cake was found on the membrane defect but still porous. A glass powder was selected instead of TiO₂, and the membrane defect was successfully sealed by glazing. The in-situ repair of a waste commercial Pd/Al₂O₃ membrane separator was carried out with the glass powder, and the hydrogen flux and H₂/N₂ selectivity of the membrane separator at 450 °C under 100 kPa reached 12.6 m³m⁻²h⁻¹ and 1600, respectively.     

Stabilizing effect of the cyclodextrins additive to spray-dried particles of curcumin/polyvinylpyrrolidone on the supersaturated state of curcumin

Although curcumin is considered to have various therapeutic effects, its use as a functional food or supplement is restricted owing to its low water solubility and bioavailability. To increase the solubility of curcumin in water, the use of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and vinylpyrrolidone-vinyl acetate copolymers with a pyrrolidone skeleton was noted to be promising. In particular, the bi-component formulations of curcumin/PVP prepared through spray drying exhibited an amorphous state in powder X-ray diffraction observations and temporally increased the apparent solubility of curcumin to over 5000 times that of untreated curcumin; nevertheless, after 24 h, the solubility decreased owing to the unstable supersaturated state of curcumin. The addition of α-cyclodextrin (α-CyD) in the bi-component curcumin/PVP formulation helped maintain the supersaturated state of curcumin, whereas the addition of β- and γ-CyD led to the collapse of the supersaturated state. The addition of α-CyD can likely help inhibit the nucleation and crystal growth of curcumin, through the interaction among the solubilized units of curcumin/PVP and α-CyD.     

Physicochemical properties of pre-treated cuttlebone powder and its potential as an alternative calcium source

This study was aimed to investigate the potential use of pre-treated cuttlebone powder (CBP) as an alternative calcium source by evaluating the physicochemical properties of CBP pre-treated with distilled water (CBP1), 1% acetic acid (CBP2), and 2% sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solutions (CBP3). Proximate analysis revealed ash as the major component of all samples. The presence of phenols, flavonoids, alkaloids, and glycosides were detected but tannins appeared to be absent in cuttlebones. Mineral analysis indicated that CBP was rich in calcium, which means the material may be considered as a potential calcium source for food products or calcium supplements. The bulk density of CBP2 was significantly lower (p < .05) than those of CBP1 and CBP3, and the water holding capacity (WHC) of CBP1 was significantly higher (p < .05) than those of CBP2 and CBP3. The high bulk density, water and oil holding capacities of CBP demonstrated its potential use as a functional food ingredient.     

衍生化-富集-表面增强拉曼光谱法快速筛查奶粉中亚硝酸盐

目的 建立衍生化-富集-表面增强拉曼光谱法快速检测奶粉中亚硝酸盐的分析方法。方法 样品水溶液通过除蛋白、衍生化后，采用阳离子小柱PSY-001对衍生化合物进行富集，再使用表面增强拉曼光谱对样品中的亚硝酸盐含量进行定性检测。结果 7类不同奶粉，采用本研究所建立的方法进行检测，根据不同的批处理量，单个样品检测全过程只需3~15 min，定性检测限为0.4 mg/kg，远低于国家安全标准对亚硝酸盐的限量要求(2 mg/kg)。方法的灵敏度在96%～100%，特异性为100%，假阴性率为0%～4%，假阳性率为0%，相对准确度为98%～100%。结论 该方法操作简单、快速，易于掌握，适用于奶粉中亚硝酸盐的快速筛查。     

Effect of Ti content on the microstructure and mechanical properties of laser clad Ti/B4C/dr40-based composite coatings on shaft parts surface

As a transmission part, the service life of the shaft parts directly affects the machining efficiency and economic benefit, and requires higher surface hardness and wear resistance. In this study, the Ti/B₄C/dr40 composite powder was cladded on the shaft part surface via laser cladding to improve the microhardness and wear resistance. The microstructure evolution and phase structure were analyzed to reveal the strengthening mechanism of Ti and B₄C on dr40 coating. The Ti/B₄C/dr40 composite coating with low defects and good interface metallurgical bonding quality between coating and substrate was prepared on the 45# steel shaft part. The results show that the main phase in the Ti/B₄C/dr40 composite coating is TiC, TiB₂, Cr₂C₃, (Ti, Cr) C, (Ti, Cr, Fe, Ni) (C, B). With the addition content of Ti increasing, the grain densifies, the sieve-reticular structure and small strip phase at grain boundary and intergranular area change as massive phase. Moreover, the microhardness improves up to 2.05 times than that of dr40 coating. The in-situ synthesis of carbides and borides are evenly distributed in the coating, which improves the deformation resistance of the coating. In addition, the precipitation and solid solution strengthening caused by reinforcement phase also enhanced matrix strength for supporting reinforcement phases, improving the coating wear resistance.     

Designing amorphous formulations of polyphenols with naringin by spray-drying for enhanced solubility and permeability

Naringin (NAR), a major flavanone (FVA) glycoside, is a component of food mainly obtained from grapefruit. We used NAR as a food additive to improve the solubility and permeability of hydrophobic polyphenols used as supplements in the food industry. The spray-dried particles (SDPs) of NAR alone show an amorphous state with a glass transition temperature (T_g) at 93.2 °C. SDPs of hydrophobic polyphenols, such as flavone (FVO), quercetin (QCT), naringenin (NRG), and resveratrol (RVT) were prepared by adding varying amounts of NAR. All SDPs of hydrophobic polyphenols with added NAR were in an amorphous state with a single T_g, but SDPs of hydrophobic polyphenols without added NAR showed diffraction peaks derived from each crystal. The SDPs with NAR could keep an amorphous state after storage at a high humidity condition for one month, except for SDPs of RVT/NAR. SDPs with NAR enhanced the solubility of hydrophobic polyphenols, especially NRG solubility, which was enhanced more than 9 times compared to NRG crystal. The enhanced solubility resulted in the increased membrane permeability of NRG. The antioxidant effect of the hydrophobic NRG was also enhanced by the synergetic effect of NAR. The findings demonstrated that NAR could be used as a food additive to enhance the solubility and membrane permeability of hydrophobic polyphenols.