Accelerated bioactive behavior of Nagelschmidtite bioceramics: Mimicking the nano and microstructural aspects of biological mineralization

The ability of the Nagelschmidtite (Nagel) phase to promote osteogenesis, cementogenesis, and angiogenesis increased the interest in using this calcium silicophosphate bioceramic for tissue regeneration and vascularization applications. Nagel phase is a solid solution with the general formula Ca_7-xNa_x(PO₄)_2+x(SiO₄)_2-x, which allows several substitutions being Ca₇(PO₄)₂(SiO₄)₂ the most reported stoichiometry. Inspired by the well-known 45S5 bioactive glass chemical composition, we developed a synthesis route to obtain a Na-rich Nagel single phase. The effect of this bioceramic chemical and structural properties on apatite formation and crystallization mechanism is reported. The structural aspects at the nano and microscale of the mechanism of apatite growth and crystallization from the Nagel phase were compared to the formation process of Extra-Cellular Matrix (ECM) deposits in biological systems, revealing a biomimetic behavior during the apatite biomineralization process from the bioceramic.     

Mn3Sb: a new L12-type intermetallic compound synthesized under high-pressure

A new intermetallic compound, Mn₃Sb, has been synthesized by direct reaction of elemental components at 6.2 GPa and 1000 °C for 30 min using a belt-type high-pressure apparatus. The compound crystallizes into a cubic structure with the space group Pm-3m, namely the L1₂-type (Cu₃Au-type) structure. The structure was refined by the Rietveld analysis of the powder X-ray diffraction data and the lattice constant was determined to be a=0.40017(2) nm. The compound exhibits metallic conductivity and weak ferromagnetism.     

Review of hydrodynamics and gas dispersion in flotation cells on South African platinum concentrators

Hydrodynamic and gas dispersion parameters, obtained from industrial flotation cells on South African Platinum concentrators, are reviewed in this paper. Hydrodynamic results show that power intensities are slightly higher than those typically observed in industrial flotation cells while impeller tip speeds and Froude numbers are within the range found in industrial cells. Gas dispersion results show that air flow rates, air flow numbers and air flow velocities vary significantly from cell to cell but are within the range typically found in industrial flotation cells. Gas dispersion results also show reasonably broad variations in bubble size, gas holdup and superficial gas velocity, although bubble surface area fluxes are shown to lie within a fairly narrow range of 50–70/s.     

Microwave-assisted metal-catalyzed pyrolysis of low-rank coal: Promising option towards obtaining high-quality products

Microwave-assisted catalytic pyrolysis is considered to be a promising technology for coal-staged conversion due to its high efficiency and selectivity. This work was undertaken to investigate the pyrolysis behavior and products quality of microwave-assisted pyrolysis of low rank coal catalyzed by metallic catalysts (K, Ca and Fe) with both dielectric response and catalytic effect via a microwave tube furnace. The mechanism of metallic catalysts on catalytic cracking tar under microwave radiation was also investigated. The dielectric properties and physicochemical structure of coal chars were characterized by a vector network analyzer, XRD, FT-IR, SEM, EDS, and Raman. The chemical structure characteristics of generated tars were determined by FT-IR and GC-MS. Results manifested that microwave interacted preferentially with metal catalysts by polarization and conductivity loss could efficiently induce the occurrence of catalytic pyrolysis reactions to generate high yield syngas (CO + H₂). Specifically, the dielectric loss factor of resultant chars was considerably improved with the introduction of metallic catalysts especial for Ca and Fe. Furthermore, it is found that metal catalysts dramatically enriched the amorphous carbon structure in produced chars whereas in favour of suppressing the trend of carbon graphitization. Additionally, the transformation of larger polycyclic aromatic compounds into lighter tar species was catalytically accelerated, resulting in the large proportion of single-ring aromatics in tar under the synergistic effect between microwave and metal catalysts.     

X射线光电子能谱在材料表面研究中的应用

通过阐述XPS测试原理及工作特点,讨论其在材料表面研究中的具体应用。通过光电子谱峰位置、形状和强度,可以分析元素价态、含量。角分辨XPS可以检测超薄样品表面的化学状态,成像XPS可以显示样品表面的元素和价态分布,从而进行微区分析。利用氩离子刻蚀进行深度剖析,可以研究样品化学状态随深度的变化关系。     

Pulse energy-storage performance and temperature stability of Bi2O3-added BaTiO3 based ceramics

The temperature stability and temperature stability range of barium titanate-based pulse energy-storage ceramics were modified by Bi₂O₃ tailoring in (Ba_0.98-xLi_0.02Bi_x) (Mg_0·04Ti_0.96)O₃ (x = 0, 0.025, 0.05, 0.075, 0.1) and (Ba_1.03-1.5xLi_0.02Bi_x) (Mg_0·04Ti_0.96)O₃ (x = 0.125, 0.15, 0.2, 0.25) ceramics. Excellent pulse energy-storage performances of ceramic films are achieved via the new dual priority strategy of establishing cationic vacancies and forming a liquid phase. The dielectric constant plateau appears due to the cubic phase and space charges. Outstanding temperature stability, frequency stability and antifatigue performance are obtained in the ceramics, and their variations are all less than 15%. The comprehensive energy-storage properties with dual priority parameters of energy-storage density and efficiency of 3.13 J/cm³ and 91.71%, accompanied by an excellent pulse discharge energy density of 2.48 J/cm³, current density of 1313.23 A/cm² and power density of 195.26 MW/cm³ are gained at x = 0.1. The perfect pulse energy-storage performances as well as ultrahigh stability are correlated with synergistic effects of multiphase coexistence, cubic phase, liquid-phase sintering, grain size, ceramic resistance, space charges and polar nanoregions. The comprehensive parameters indicate that the (Ba_0·88Li_0·02Bi_0.1) (Mg_0·04Ti_0.96)O₃ ceramics have potential application in high precision fields.     

Preparation of free-standing diamond films for high frequency SAW devices

Free-standing diamond films were prepared by hot filament chemical vapor deposition (HFCVD) method under different conditions. Inter-digital transducers (IDTs) were formed on the nucleation sides of free-standing diamond films by photolithography technique. Then piezoelectric ZnO films were deposited by radio-frequency(RF) reactive magnetron sputtering to obtain the ZnO/diamond film structures. Surface morphologies of the nucleation sides and the IDTs were characterized by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscope (AFM) and optical microscopy. The results indicate that the surfaces of nucleation sides are very smooth and the IDTs are of high quality without discontinuity and short circuit phenomenon. Raman spectra show the sharp diamond feature peak at about 1 334 cm⁻¹ and the small amount of non-diamond carbon in the nucleation side. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of the structure of ZnO/diamond films show a strong diffraction peak of ZnO (002), which indicates that as-sputtered ZnO films are highly c-axis oriented.     

Thermodynamic assessments of Ag–Dy and Ag–Er binary systems

Thermodynamic assessments of Ag–Dy and Ag–Er binary systems have been performed by using CALPHAD method. In order to provide necessary data for thermodynamic assessment, the formation enthalpies of Ag₂Dy, AgDy, Ag₂Er and AgEr were calculated by using projector augmented-wave (PAW) method within generalized gradient approximation (GGA) in first-principles frame. During assessments of the Ag–Dy and Ag–Er binary systems, the solution phases (liquid, fcc and hcp) were treated as substitutional solutions, of which the excess Gibbs energies were modeled by Redlich–Kister polynomial, and all intermetallic compounds were described as stoichiometric phases. Consequently, phase diagrams of these two binary systems were thermodynamically optimized and the self-consistent thermodynamic parameters of involved phases obtained.     

Flexural and impact response of woven glass fiber fabric/polypropylene composites

Impact tests with a falling dart and flexural measurements were carried out on polypropylene based laminates reinforced with glass fibers fabrics. Research has shown that the strong fiber/matrix interface obtained through the use of a compatibilizer increased the mechanical performance of such composite systems. The improved adhesion between fibers and matrix weakly affects the flexural modulus but strongly influences the ultimate properties of the investigated woven fabric composites. In fact, bending tests have shown a clear improvement in the flexural strength for the compatibilized systems, in particular when a high viscosity/high crystallinity polypropylene was used. On the contrary, the low velocity impact tests indicated an opposite dependence on the interface strength, and higher energy absorption in not compatibilized composites was detected. This result has been explained in terms of failure mechanisms at the fiber/matrix interface, which are able to dissipate large amounts of energy through friction phenomena. Pull-out of fibers from the polypropylene matrices have been evidenced by the morphological analysis of fracture surfaces after failure and takes place before the fibers breakage, as confirmed by the evaluation of the ductility index.