Plasma assists titanium nitride and surface modified titanium nitride nanoparticles from titanium scraps for magnetic properties and supercapacitor applications

Plasma methods are efficient processing for metal recovery from metal scrap, bearing minerals, electronic waste, etc. In this work, pure titanium nitride nanoparticles (TiN NPs) were synthesized from titanium scraps by the thermal plasma arc discharge (TPAD) method. TPAD synthesized TiN NPs have a highly crystalline nature with cubic and spherical morphologies with average particle sizes of 30–100 nm. Further, prepared TiN NPs involving surface modification (SM) or etching processes were investigated by using the non-thermal DC glow discharge plasma technique with air atmosphere at different processing times. SM@TiN NPs have a comparatively low crystalline, which was confirmed from the powder X-ray diffraction technique. SM@TiN NPs have very interesting core shell morphologies, which are due to the surface interactions of ionized air molecules. TiN and SM@TiN NPs have room-temperature ferromagnetic properties with high saturation magnetization (Ms) up to 2.6 and 3.0 emu/g and very high coercivity (Hc) of 235.5 Oe, respectively. TiN and SM@TiN NPs have superior energy storage performance with an outstanding specific capacitance of 192.8 and 435.1 F/g at a current density of 2 A/g with pseudocapacitive behavior. These results reveal that TiN and SM@TiN NPs have highly promising electrodes for supercapacitor applications.     

Structure,mechanical and thermal properties of Y-doped CrAlN coatings

CrAlYN coatings with different Y contents (0, 5 and 12 at.%) were deposited by cathodic arc evaporation to investigate the influence of Y-addition on the structure, mechanical and thermal properties of CrAlN coatings by using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, thermal gravimetric analysis and nanoindentation. The structural transformation of single phase cubic Cr_0.42Al_0.58N and Cr_0.39Al_0.56Y_0.05N coatings to cubic–wurtzite mixed Cr_0.32Al_0.56Y_0.12N coating leads to a drop in hardness from (30.2±0.7) GPa of Cr_0.42Al_0.58N and (32.0±1.0) GPa of Cr_0.39Al_0.56Y_0.05N to (25.2±0.7) GPa of Cr_0.32Al_0.56Y_0.12N. The incorporation of 5 at.% Y retards the thermal decomposition of CrAlN, verified by the postponed precipitation of w-AlN and N-loss upon annealing. Correspondingly, Cr_0.39Al_0.56Y_0.05N coating consistently exhibits the highest hardness value during thermal annealing. Nevertheless, alloying with Y exerts an adverse effect on the oxidation resistance of CrAlN.     

Femtosecond Ti: Sa ultra short-pulse laser irradiation effects on the properties and morphology of the zirconia surface after ageing

Femtosecond pulses from a Ti:Sapphire laser were used to irradiate specimens of yttria-stabilised (35% mol) tetragonal zirconia (Y-TZP) with the purpose of studying the effects of the irradiations on their surface properties and morphology after ageing. Zirconia disks were divided into eight groups (n = 32) according to their surface treatment and subsequent ageing: Control: no treatment; sandblasting: Al₂O₃ sandblasting 50 μm; and ultrashort laser pulses irradiation with 25 μJ pulses, considering two different scanning steps based on the width between two grooves. These groups were duplicated and submitted to ageing. The surfaces were analysed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction. A finite element analysis, a biaxial flexure test, as well as fractographic and Weibull analyses, were performed. The strengths of the disks were statistically different for the treatment factor, and the principal stresses seemed to be concentrated at the centre of the specimens, as predicted by the computer simulations. Ageing decreased the strengths for all groups and increased the Weibull modulus for the laser group with the 40 μm-width between two grooves. The sandblasting group presented the highest monoclinic phase peak. Although the most significant strength was found within the sandblasting group, the phase transformation was favourable to the laser groups. The Weibull modulus was higher for the laser group with the 60 μm-width between two grooves, confirming the highest homogeneity of its failure distribution. Regardless of the surface treatment, strength was decreased with ageing in all groups. The femtosecond Ti:Sa ultra-short pulse laser irradiation can be suggested as an alternative to the gold standard sandblasting in long-term Y-TZP zirconia rehabilitations, such as crowns and veneers.     

State-of-the-art technology: Recent investigations on laser-mediated synthesis of nanocomposites for environmental remediation

In both developing and industrialized/developed countries, various hazardous/toxic environmental pollutants are entering water bodies from organic and inorganic compounds (heavy metals and specifically dyes). The global population is growing whereas the accessibility of clean, potable and safe drinking water is decreasing, leading to world deterioration in human health and limitation of agricultural and/or economic development. Treatment of water/wastewater (mainly industrial water) via catalytic reduction/degradation of environmental pollutants is extremely critical and is a major concern/issue for public health. Light and/or laser ablation induced photocatalytic processes have attracted much attention during recent years for water treatment due to their good (photo)catalytic efficiencies in the reduction/degradation of organic/inorganic pollutants. Pulsed laser ablation (PLA) is a rather novel catalyst fabrication approach for the generation of nanostructures with special morphologies (nanoparticles (NPs), nanocrystals, nanocomposites, nanowires, etc.) and different compositions (metals, alloys, oxides, core-shell, etc.). Laser ablation in liquid (LAL) is generally considered a quickly growing approach for the synthesis and modification of nanomaterials for practical applications in diverse fields. LAL-synthesized nanomaterials have been identified as attractive nanocatalysts or valuable photocatalysts in (photo)catalytic reduction/degradation reactions. In this review, the laser ablation/irradiation strategies based on LAL are systematically described and the applications of LAL synthesized metal/metal oxide nanocatalysts with highly controlled nanostructures in the degradation/reduction of organic/inorganic water pollutants are highlighted along with their degradation/reduction mechanisms.     

An automated treatment planning strategy for highly noncoplanar radiotherapy arc trajectories

Radiation therapy is a technology-driven cancer treatment modality that has experienced significant advances over the last decades, due to multidisciplinary contributions that include engineering and computing. Recent technological developments allow the use of noncoplanar volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT), one of the most recent photon treatment techniques, in clinical practice. In this work, an automated noncoplanar arc trajectory optimization framework designed in two modular phases is presented. First, a noncoplanar beam angle optimization algorithm is used to obtain a set of noncoplanar irradiation directions. Then, anchored in these directions, an optimization strategy is proposed to compute an optimal arc trajectory. The computational experiments considered a pool of twelve difficult head-and-neck tumor cases. It was possible to observe that, for some of these cases, the optimized noncoplanar arc trajectories led to significant treatment planning quality improvements, when compared with coplanar VMAT treatment plans. Although these experiments were done in a research environment treatment planning software (matRad), the conclusions can be of interest for a clinical setting: automated procedures can simplify the current treatment workflow, produce high-quality treatment plans, making better use of human resources and allowing for unbiased comparisons between different treatment techniques.     

Design and characteristics of a new type laminar plasma torch for materials processing

Laminar plasma jet(LPJ) generated by laminar plasma torch(LPT) has a favorable temperature and velocity distribution. Thus, it is superior to the turbulent plasma jet in material processing.However, most of the reported LPTs usually operate at a relatively low output power with a relatively low arc voltage and thermal efficiency, which limits its capabilities. In this context, this paper attempts to design a new type of high-power LPT with a relatively low arc current and a high thermal efficiency. In the first section, the design principle of the main components is studied and discussed in detail, and a new high-power LPT is proposed. Then, the experimental characteristics of the proposed high-power LPT are examined. Experimental results reveal the following characteristics of the proposed LPT.(1) The max jet length of the proposed LPT reaches at 540 mm.(2) Its mean arc voltage is higher than 290 V when the LPT works with arc currents lower than 200 A, leading to an output power greater than 50 kW.(3) The mean thermal efficiency is higher than 50%. Lastly, the proposed LPT has been applied to spheroidize the aluminum oxide powers. The experiment results for the production of spherical powders show that the proposed LPT has a good characteristic for material processing.     

Deciphering the Origins of P1-Induced Power Losses in Cu(Inx,Ga1–x)Se2 (CIGS) Modules Through Hyperspectral Luminescence

In this report, we show that hyperspectral high-resolution photoluminescence mapping is a powerful tool for the selection and optimization of the laser ablation processes used for the patterning interconnections of subcells on Cu(In_x,Ga_1−x)Se₂ (CIGS) modules. In this way, we show that in-depth monitoring of material degradation in the vicinity of the ablation region and the identification of the underlying mechanisms can be accomplished. Specifically, by analyzing the standard P1 patterning line ablated before the CIGS deposition, we reveal an anomalous emission-quenching effect that follows the edge of the molybdenum groove underneath. We further rationalize the origins of this effect by comparing the topography of the P1 edge through a scanning electron microscope (SEM) cross-section, where a reduction of the photoemission cannot be explained by a thickness variation. We also investigate the laser-induced damage on P1 patterning lines performed after the deposition of CIGS. We then document, for the first time, the existence of a short-range damaged area, which is independent of the application of an optical aperture on the laser path. Our findings pave the way for a better understanding of P1-induced power losses and introduce new insights into the improvement of current strategies for industry-relevant module interconnection schemes.     

H13钢等离子堆焊Ni60A/Cr3C2覆层的磨损及热疲劳性能

采用等离子堆焊技术在H13钢基体表面上制备了Ni60A/Cr₃C₂堆焊覆层,研究了覆层的磨损行为和热疲劳性能。在600 ℃下销盘试验的结果表明,镍基碳化铬复合覆层的耐磨性是Ni60A堆焊覆层的2.8倍和基材H13钢的11.6倍。镍基覆层可以显著降低H13钢的摩擦因数,加入碳化铬则会削弱覆层的摩擦性能。随着磨损的进行,主要磨损机理从氧化磨损演变为磨粒磨损和粘着磨损。在800 ℃到室温下的热疲劳测试结果表明,镍基碳化铬复合覆层在48个热循环后疲劳裂纹达到200 μm,早于镍基覆层的62次。这说明高温氧化促进热疲劳裂纹的产生。碳化铬增强相从镍基上剥离,导致镍基复合覆层热疲劳性能下降。     

Impact of gas formation on the transfer of Ti and O from TiO2-bearing basic-fluoride fluxes to submerged arc welded metals: A thermodynamic approach

Gas-slag-metal equilibrium calculations are performed to investigate the transfer of Ti and O to submerged arc welded metals with increasing TiO₂ addition in basic-fluoride fluxes. The results indicate that activities of TiO₂ and Ti₂O₃ considering slag-metal reactions alone do not account for Ti transfer behaviors since TiF₃ gas tends to form and reduce Ti-oxide activities. Thermodynamic simulation indicates that consideration of gases is essential to improve the prediction accuracy of Ti and O concentrations.