Understanding grain refining and anti Si-poisoning effect in Al-10Si/Al-5Nb-B system

Grain refinement is critical for fabricating high-quality Al-Si casting components in the application of automobile and aerospace industries,while the well-known Si-poisoning effect makes it difficult.Nbbased refiners offer an effective method to refine Al-Si casting alloys,but their anti Si-poisoning capability is far from being understood.In this work,the grain refining mechanism and the anti Si-poisoning effect in the Al-10 Si/Al-5 Nb-B system were systematically investigated by combining transmission electron microscope,first-principles calculations,and thermodynamic calculations.It is revealed that NbB₂provides the main nucleation site in the Al-10 Si ingot inoculated by 0.1 wt.%Nb Al-5 Nb-B refiner.The exposed Nb atoms on the(0001)NbB₂and(1-100)NbB₂surface can be substituted by Al to form(Al,Nb)B₂intermedia layers.In addition,a layer of NbAl₃-like compound(NbAl₃')can cover the surface of NbB₂with the orientation relation of(1-100)[11-20]NbB_2//(110)[110]NbAl₃'.Both of the(Al,Nb)B₂and NbAl₃'intermedia layers contribute to enhancing the nucleation potency of NbB₂particles.These discoveries provide fundamental insight to the grain refining mechanism of the Nb-B based refiners for Al-Si casting alloys and are expected to guide the future development of stronger refiners for Al-Si casting alloys.     

The effects of hydrogen-induced lattice distortion and Nb-D formation on its permeation through niobium

Abnormal permeation behavior of hydrogen through niobium has been investigated in this paper, i.e. the permeation flux saturated with long-term decrease after reaching a maximum. The diffusivity and permeability have been deduced from the decay edge of permeation transient. Three kinds of polycrystalline niobium foils with different annealing temperature have been compared, to verify the effect of defects and grain properties on the permeability and diffusivity. In the temperature range of (773–1023) K, the heat treatment along with the permeation cycles could either reduce or increase the permeability and diffusivity depending sensitively on temperature and showing a temperature threshold around 950 K. The permeation flux is proportional to square root of pressure, revealing that the abnormal permeation was still bulk diffusion-limited. The diffusivity gradually decreased with permeation cycles, and became more and more sensitive to pressure. The niobium foil expanded macroscopically along the gradient of hydrogen concentration, which reveals the strong and unrecoverable lattice distortion in this temperature and pressure range. The X-ray diffraction studies showed that splitting of all the Nb peaks and shifting of Nb-D peaks along with hydrogen loadings. The phase transition was expected to eliminate the lattice strain during hydrogen loading and which in turn acted as a diffusion barrier.     

A highly active composite electrocatalyst Ni–Fe–P–Nb2O5/NF for overall water splitting

This work demonstrates a facile Nb₂O₅-decorated electrocatalyst to prepare cost-effective Ni–Fe–P–Nb₂O₅/NF and compared HER & OER performance in alkaline media. The prepared electrocatalyst presented an outstanding electrocatalytic performance towards hydrogen evolution reaction, which required a quite low overpotential of 39.05 mV at the current density of ?10 mA cm^?2 in 1 M KOH electrolyte. Moreover, the Ni–Fe–P–Nb₂O₅/NF catalyst also has excellent oxygen evolution efficiency, which needs only 322 mV to reach the current density of 50 mA cm^?2. Furthermore, its electrocatalytic performance towards overall water splitting worked as both cathode and anode achieved a quite low potential of 1.56 V (10 mA cm^?2).     

Electrochemical determination of niobium cathode as an efficient electrocatalyst for hydrogen generation in acidic media

Hydrogen gas (H₂) is notified as a renewable energy carrier. It is wanted to discover a low-cost electrocatalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) to substitute the high-cost Pt in electrolysis cell. Niobium electrocatalyst nominated to substitute noble materials for electrocatalytic H₂ production and its electrochemical manner was estimated in H₂SO₄ acid of various concentrations utilizing a steady-state polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The influences of acid concentration, cathodic potential and temperature on the H₂ creation were examined. The outcomes display that HER on Nb electrode proceeds by the Volmer-Heyrovsky mechanism. EIS tests, under open circuit and under cathodic polarization, were performed and the fitting has been done utilizing a suggested model for the electrode/electrolyte interface. Apparent activation energies (E_a) were estimated to be ca. 10.5 kJ mol^?1 for the HER on Nb. Thus, Nb is a good electrocatalyst for the cathodic H₂ manufacturing.     

Mixed-dimensional niobium disulfide-graphene foam heterostructures as an efficient catalyst for hydrogen production

Besides developing a large number of catalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in alkaline electrolytes, its conversion efficiency remained low. Herein, we have developed mixed-dimensional heterostructures of niobium disulfide (NbS₂) with graphene foam grown on nickel foam (NbS₂-Gr-NF). The strong lateral fusion results in activating the catalytic sites of NbS₂, the three-dimensional substrate provides easy access of electrolyte to active sites and increased electrochemically active surface area, while enhanced conductivity provides faster transfer of electrons to and from active sites. Therefore, NbS₂-Gr-NF heterostructures resulted in an exceptionally high current density of 500 mA cm⁻² at a very low overpotential of 306 mV in 1 M KOH solution and even can achieve the current density values of 914 mAcm⁻² at 338 mV only at a slight increase in overpotential (32 mV). Moreover, a Tafel value of ~72 mV dec⁻¹ confirms that as-developed heterostructure provides fast reaction kinetics where the reaction is mainly controlled by the Volmer step. Achieving such high current density at a faster rate with high stability makes NbS₂-Gr-NF heterostructures a potential candidate for water-splitting, especially in alkaline electrolytes.     

The influence of the processing route on the fragmentation of (Nb,Ti)C stringers and its role on mechanical properties and hydrogen embrittlement of nickel based alloy 718

The nickel-base superalloy 718 is a precipitation hardened alloy widely used in the nuclear fuel assembly of pressurized water reactors (PWR). However, the alloy can experience failure due to hydrogen embrittlement (HE). The processing route can influence the microstructure of the material and, therefore, the HE degree. In particular, the size and distribution of the (Nb,Ti)C particles can be affected by the processing. In this regard, the objective of this work was to analyze the influence of cold and hot deformation processing routes on the development of the microstructure, and the consequences on mechanical properties and hydrogen embrittlement. Tensile samples were hydrogenated through gaseous charging and compared to non-hydrogenated samples. Characterization was performed via scanning and transmission electron microscopies, as well as electron backscattered diffraction. The processing was effective to promote significant variations in average grain size and length fraction of special Σ3ⁿ boundaries, as well as reduction of average (Nb,Ti)C particle size, being these changes more intense for the cold-rolled route. For the mechanical properties, on one side, the cold-rolled route presented the highest increase in ductility for non-hydrogenated samples, while, on the other side, had the highest degree of embrittlement under hydrogen. This dual behavior was attributed to the interaction of hydrogen with the (Nb,Ti)C particles and stringers and its ensuing influence on the fracture processes.     

Nb2O5纳米线的热氧化生长与光催化性能研究

采用热氧化技术在金属铌箔片上生长了Nb2O5纳米线,利用X射线衍射光谱、扫描电子显微镜和透射电子显微镜对产物的物相、形貌和微结构进行表征,并研究了纳米线的光吸收与光催化染料降解特性。结果表明,热氧化所得Nb2O5纳米线为四方相结构,直径约为20-60 nm。当氧气流量为25毫升每分钟（sccm）时,纳米线生长致密、长径比高,构成网络结构。随着氧气流量的增加,纳米线的数量和致密程度逐渐下降。紫外可见吸收光谱表明,Nb2O5纳米线为直接带隙半导体,带隙宽度为3.42 eV。此外,Nb2O5纳米线在波长为365 nm的紫外光照射下对亚甲基蓝、甲基橙和罗丹明B等染料均具有光催化降解性能,效率因子分别为-0.025、-0.021和-0.008 min-1。     

Processing of Composite Gun Tubes with GLEEM and Hammer Forging

Refractory metal liners have been shown to extend the service life of gun tubes a considerable amount. The major technical hurdle to date has been keeping the liners in place during firing. To address this problem, composite gun tubes made of steel and pure niobium have been fabricated through a combination of the GLEEM (gun liner emplacement with an elastomeric material) and the hammer forging. The three barrels made by this approach were test fired in single-shot and burst-fire mode. One of the barrels whose liner had been cold-sprayed with tungsten carbide particles before the GLEEM process showed no liner movement in any of the tests. The success of this new liner processing technology to prevent liner movement offers the potential for further investigations of refractory metals that are more suitable as liner materials.     

Fabrication of Ni-Based Superalloys Containing Nb and Their High Temperature Oxidation Behaviors

Ni-based superalloys with different contents of Nb addition were fabricated by vacuum melting and casting. High temperature oxidation behaviors of the designed alloys were investigated by thermogravimetry. Microstructure and phase constituent of the oxidation scales were studied using scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. Results showed that irrespective of the composition, all specimens obeyed the parabolic law during different stages. The scales on specimens B and C with 2.0 wt.% and 2.5 wt.% Nb addition, respectively, were mainly comprised of Cr₂O₃ and NiCr₂O₄. However, specimen A, with no Nb addition showed only NiO in the outer scale. The oxidation scales all exhibited a layered structure. With 2.0 wt.%Nb addition, the superalloy's high temperature oxidation resistance was enhanced by about 25%.     

Anode material NbO for Li-ion battery and its electrochemical properties

The NbO electrode materials were successfully synthesized by high-temperature solid-phase method using Nb powders and Nb_2O_5 powders as raw materials. The crystalline structure, morphology, and electrochemical properties of the obtained materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction(XRD),scanning electron microscopy(SEM), dynamic light scattering instrument(DLSA), halfcell charge-discharge tests, and cyclic voltammetry(CV).The reaction mechanism of lithium with NbO was investigated by ex-situ XRD studies. The results show that material average Li storage voltage is nearly located at 1.6 V, and the lithium intercalation into NbO remains a single-phase process. For the first discharge, a capacity of 355 mAh·g^-1 is obtained at a current rate of 0.1 C,and 293 mAh·g^-1 is maintained after 50 cycles, whereas a capacity of 416 mAh·g^-1 is obtained at a current rate of 0.1 C after ball milling. And 380 mAh·g^-1 reversible capacity remains for the ball milling sample.