Highly oriented α-Al2O3 transparent ceramics shaped by shear force

Alumina platelets were arranged horizontally in submicron alumina particles by shear force in the flow of slurries during casting. The obtained alumina green bodies with platelets were pressureless-sintered in vacuum, producing ceramics with thoroughly oriented grains and high transmittance. The effects of sintering parameters on the densification, microstructure evolution, and orientation degree of alumina ceramics were investigated and discussed. The results showed that the densification, grain size, orientation degree, and in-line transmittance were increased with increasing sintering temperature. The enhancement of orientation degree was mainly coherent with grain growth. The grain-oriented samples exhibited a much higher in-line transmittance (at 600 nm) of 61 % than that of the grain random sample (29 %). Moreover, the transmission remained a high level in the ultraviolet range (<300 nm).     

Bi-templated grain growth maximizing the effects of texture on piezoelectricity

Templated grain growth is beneficial for piezoelectric materials, the properties of which become the best in their single crystalline form. Nevertheless, a textured ceramic prepared by a templated grain growth technique often fails in exhibiting as good properties as expected in single crystals even with a high degree of orientation factor. Here, we propose a new strategy for maximizing texturing effect by suppressing the growth of untextured matrix grains. The textured ceramics made by our method, so-called bi-templated grain growth, are featured by ultrahigh piezoelectric properties (d₃₃ = ～1,031 pC/N, d?g = ～59,000, k_p = ～0.76). A special emphasis is on the achieved electric-field-induced strain of 0.13 % at 1 kV/mm, which is as high as that of single crystals. This work demonstrates that not only the degree of texture but also the coarsening of untextured matrix grains should be well-controlled to best exploit the templated grain growth technique.     

High-temperature deformation in bulk polycrystalline hafnium carbide consolidated using spark plasma sintering

In this study, we report the three-point flexural strength and fracture toughness of monolithic hafnium carbide up to 2000 °C. HfC with different grain sizes was consolidated using the spark plasma sintering method. Coarse-grained monoliths showed a weak dependence on the strain rate during high-temperature tests at 1600 °C–2000 °C. In contrast, results for the ceramics with a grain size below 20 μm indicated a positive dependence of the yield strength vs strain rate. This allowed us to identify the activation energy for high-temperature deformation in flexure as 370 kJ/mol. This level of activation energy is in satisfactory agreement with reports about the diffusion of C in hafnium carbide.     

Methods and mechanisms for uniformly refining deformed mixed and coarse grains inside a solution-treated Ni-based superalloy by two-stage heat treatment

The uniform refinement mechanisms and methods of deformed mixed and coarse grains inside a solution-treatment Ni-based superalloy during two-stage annealing treatment have been investigated.The two-stage heat treatment experiments include an aging annealing treatment(AT)and a subsequent recrystallization annealing treatment(RT).The object of AT is to precipitate some δ phases and consume part of storage energy to inhibit the grain growth during RT,while the RT is to refine mixed and coarse grains by recrystallization.It can be found that the recrystallization grains will quickly grow up to a large size when the AT time is too low or the RT temperature is too high,while the deformed coarse grains cannot be eliminated when the AT time is too long or the RT temperature is too low.In addition,the mixed microstructure composed of some abnormal coarse recrystallization grains(ACRGs)and a large number of fine grains can be observed in the annealed specimen when the AT time is 3 h and RT tem-perature is 980℃.The phenomenon attributes to the uneven distribution of δ phase resulted from the heterogeneous deformation energy when the AT time is too short.In the regions with a large number of δ phases,the recrystallization nucleation rate is promoted and the growth of grains is limited,which results in fine grains.However,in the regions with few δ phases,the recrystallization grains around grain boundaries can easily grow up,and the new recrystallization nucleus is difficult to form inside grain,which leads to ACRGs.Thus,in order to obtain uniform and fine annealed microstructure,it is a prereq-uisite to precipitate even-distributed δ phase by choosing a suitable AT time,such as 12 h.Moreover,a relative high RT temperature is also needed to promote the recrystallization nucleation around δ phase.The optimal annealing parameters range for uniformly refining mixed crystal can be summarized as:900℃×12 h+990℃×(40-60 min)and 900℃×12 h+1000℃×(10-15 min).     

Inter-Sample and Intra-Sample Variability in Electronic Properties of Methylammonium Lead Iodide

While the challenges associated with the stability of metal halide perovskites are well known and intensely studied, variability in electronic properties represents an equally significant, yet seldom studied, challenge that could potentially slow or inhibit the commercial viability of these systems. In this work, the contactless characterization technique time-resolved microwave conductivity (TRMC) is used to quantify the variability in electronic properties of the prototypical perovskite, methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI₃) both between different samples, and at different locations within the same sample. Using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and a quasi-automated image-analysis strategy, it is possible to evaluate the metrics of heterogeneity in surface microstructure and correlate them with the electronic properties as obtained by TRMC. Substantial intra-sample and inter-sample variation is observed in the mobility-yield product in samples prepared following differing protocols, and in samples prepared following identical protocols.     

Structural,optical, cytotoxicity,and antimicrobial properties of MgO,ZnO and MgO/ZnO nanocomposite for biomedical applications

In this study, MgO nanoparticles were successfully fabricated and incubated inside ZnO NPs to form MgO/ZnO nanocomposite for biomedical applications. The x-ray diffraction analysis of MgO, ZnO, and MgO/ZnO has shown the single-phase x-ray diffraction patterns through X'pert High score. The crystallite sizes were calculated as 18 nm, 42 nm, and 53 nm, respectively. The average particle size of MgO, ZnO, and MgO/ZnO nanopowders depicted from secondary electron images of field emission electron microscopy were 56 nm, 400 nm, and 450 nm, respectively. The presence of MgO NPs inside ZnO NPs was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy. The elemental dispersive spectroscopy of MgO, given the peaks of oxygen and magnesium, also showed only zinc and oxygen peaks in ZnO, which confirms no other impurities in MgO and ZnO powders. The elemental analysis of MgO/ZnO nanocomposite showed the peaks of Zinc and Oxygen, along with a tiny peak of Mg. The photoluminescence and UV–vis spectroscopy revealed the absorbance fluorescence limit of the nanomaterials. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed the several groups present in the nanocomposite. The biocompatibility of MgO, ZnO, and MgO/ZnO was observed with human peripheral blood mononuclear cells. The cytotoxicity studies were also performed against human cancer (liver and breast) cell lines. The MgO, ZnO, and MgO/ZnO exhibited the antimicrobial properties against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus.     

Altered age-hardening behavior in the ultrafine-grained surface layer of Mg-Zn-Y-Ce-Zr alloy processed by sliding friction treatment

To gain insight into the ageing behavior of ultrafine grain(UFG)structure,the precipitation phenom-ena and microstructural evolutions of Mg-6Zn-1Y-0.4Ce-0.5 Zr(wt.％)alloy processed by sliding friction treatment(SFT)were systematically studied using hardness texting,transmission electron microscopy(TEM)equipped with high-angle annular dark-field scanning(HADDF-STEM),X-ray diffraction(XRD)and XRD line broadening analysis.The microhardness of the SFT-processed(SFTed)sample initially decreases from 109.6 HV to 104.8 HV at ageing for 8 h,and then increases to the peak-ageing point of 115.4 HV at 16 h.Subsequently,it enters the over-aged period.The un-SFTed sample,as the counterpart,follows a regular ageing behavior that increases from 89.9 HV to 99.6 HV when ageing for 12 h,and then drops.A multi-mechanistic model is established to describe the strengthening due to grain refinement,disloca-tion accumulation,precipitation etc.The analysis reveals that the temperature sensitive UFG structure has an obvious grain coarsening effect,which arouses the soft phenomenon in the early ageing stage.But precipitation hardening provides an excellent hardness enhancement for overcoming the negative influ-ence and helping to reach the peak-aged point.In our microstructural observations,a lot of equilibrium ultrafine MgZn2 precipitates precipitate along dislocations because defects can provide the favorable conditions for the migration and segregation of solute atoms.     

水力空化改质对重质原油沥青质及性质的影响

利用水力空化过程产生局部的高温、高压、高射流以及强大的剪切力等极端化学物理条件改质处理沙特重质原油，试验结果表明：沙特重质原油经过水力空化改质后粘度由13.61降低至7.22mm2/s，残碳由7.16%降低至6.48%，实沸点蒸馏后减压渣油降低1个百分点。进一步采用APPI FT-IR MS、XRD、FT-IR、SEM和粒度分布等技术研究了水力空化改质对沙重原油分子组成，沥青质团聚体微晶结构、沥青质胶束粒径分布、沥青质官能团、沥青质形貌等方面的影响，从分子角度阐述空化改质重油的机理。研究结果表明：水力空化改质后沙重原油分子量分布、芳烃类化合物缔合作用变小；沥青质对低DBE化合物吸附性能降低；沥青质团聚体微晶结构更加松散；沥青质胶束粒度分布降低；沥青质分子相互团聚作用力减弱。进一步考察了水力空化改质前后减压渣油延迟焦化性能，改质处理后焦炭产率降低1.85个百分点，液体收率和气体产率分别增加1.52和0.33个百分点，水力空化改质对沥青质性质、结构特点的改善能够有效的提高其加工性能。     

Grain orientation evolution and multi-scale interfaces enhanced thermoelectric properties of textured Sr0.9La0.1TiO3 based ceramics

Sr_0.9La_0.1TiO₃ based textured ceramics (SLTT-S3T) with a texture fraction of 0.81 are successfully fabricated by the reactive template grain growth method, in which Sr_0.9La_0.1TiO₃/20 wt%Ti was used as matrix and 10 wt% plate-like Sr₃Ti₂O₇ template seeds were used as templates. The phase transition, microstructure evolution, and the anisotropic thermoelectric properties of SLTT-S3T ceramics were investigated. The results show that the ceramics are mainly composed of Sr_0.9La_0.1TiO₃ and rutile TiO₂ phases. Grains grow with a preferred orientation along (h00). A maximum ZT of 0.26 at 1073 K was achieved in the direction perpendicular to the tape casting direction. The low lattice thermal conductivity of 1.9 W/(m K) at 1073 K was obtained decreased by 34%, 40%, and 38% compared with non-textured, SrTiO₃ and Sr_0.9La_0.1TiO₃ ceramics prepared by the same process, can be attributed to the enhanced phonon scattering by the complex multi-scale boundaries and interfaces. This work provides a strategy of microstructural design for thermoelectric oxides to decrease intrinsic lattice thermal conductivity and further regulate thermoelectric properties via texture engineering.