Joining ZTA ceramic by using Dy2O3-Al2O3-SiO2 glass ceramic filler

In this paper, a novel Dy₂O₃-Al₂O₃-SiO₂ (DAS) glass ceramic was designed and prepared for joining zirconia toughened alumina (ZTA) ceramic. The crystallization, thermal expansion behavior and wetting behavior of the DAS glass filler were studied. The effect of cooling rate and joining temperature on the microstructure and flexural strength of joints was investigated. The results show that slow cooling rate (15 °C/min) leads to crystallization of brazing seam, which causes the formation of pores in the joints due to the large density difference between the glass and the crystalline phases. The dissolution of ZrO₂ from ZTA substrate into the filler during joining process improves the mismatch of the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) between the brazing seam and substrate. The maximum flexural strength of 535 MPa is obtained when the joining temperature and cooling rate are 1475 °C and 50 °C/min, respectively.     

Enhanced graphitic domains of unreduced graphene oxide and the interplay of hydration behaviour and catalytic activity

Previous studies indicate that the properties of graphene oxide (GO) can be significantly improved by enhancing its graphitic domain size through thermal diffusion and clustering of functional groups. Remarkably, this transition takes place below the decomposition temperature of the functional groups and thus allows fine tuning of graphitic domains without compromising with the functionality of GO. By studying the transformation of GO under mild thermal treatment, we directly observe this size enhancement of graphitic domains from originally ≤40 nm² to >200 nm² through an extensive transmission electron microscopy (TEM) study. Additionally, we confirm the integrity of the functional groups during this process by a comprehensive chemical analysis. A closer look into the process confirms the theoretical predicted relevance for the room temperature stability of GO and the development of the composition of functional groups is explained with reaction pathways from theoretical calculations. We further investigate the influence of enlarged graphitic domains on the hydration behaviour of GO and the catalytic performance of single atom catalysts supported by GO. Additionally, we show that the sheet resistance of GO is reduced by several orders of magnitude during the mild thermal annealing process.     

High carrier mobility and remarkable photovoltaic performance of two-dimensional Ruddlesden–Popper organic–inorganic metal halides (PA)2(MA)2M3I10 for perovskite solar cell applications

Two-dimensional Ruddlesden–Popper (2DRP) metal halides have attracted extensive attention in photovoltaic applications due to their high stability, low self-doping levels and long-lived free carriers. Among them, (PA)₂(MA)₂Pb₃I₁₀ presents itself as a superior candidate, demonstrating greater moisture resistance and improved heat and light stability over many other 2DRP metal halides. This study takes on the opportunity to search for lead-free alternatives by investigating the optoelectronic and carrier transport properties, as well as the photovoltaic performance of such (PA)₂(MA)₂M₃I₁₀ type metal halides as the photovoltaic absorber, where M = Pb, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ge, Mn, Ni, Sn, Yb, Zn. Our results indicate that the bandgap of (PA)₂(MA)₂M₃I₁₀ can be tuned to the optimum photovoltaic application range of 0.9–1.6 eV, along with improved optical and enhanced photo-response capacity, when Sn, Cd, Mn, Ge, and Zn are used to replace Pb. In particular, (PA)₂(MA)₂Zn₃I₁₀ possesses the largest Stokes shift and Huang-Rhys factor, while showing the best photoluminescence tendency and broadest emission nature. (PA)₂(MA)₂Ge₃I₁₀ displays the most excellent of carrier transport capacities with high mobilities of 73 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹ and 43 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹ for electron and hole carriers, respectively, which are even comparable to that of 3D counterparts. Furthermore, (PA)₂(MA)₂Zn₃I₁₀ is predicted to have the highest power conversion efficiency of 23.36% based on an empirical energy loss (0.5 eV), which is quite close to the Shockley–Queisser limit, thereby featuring it as a suitable absorber for photovoltaic applications. These findings shed light on new strategies for designing and developing lead-free 2DRP metal halides targeted at future applications in photovoltaic solar cell devices.     

Vacancy-ordered yttria stabilized zirconia as a low-temperature electronic conductor achieved by laser melting

Laser melting is known to be capable in initiating thorough evolution in microstructure and bringing novel functional performance in metals. But realization of this potential in ceramics only reaches a preliminary stage that needs further investigation. Here we demonstrate zirconia, traditionally an insulative ceramic at low temperature, could be transformed into an electronic conductor with the conductivity on order of 10⁻³ S⋅cm^-1 at room temperature by a simple laser melting process without inducing metallic phases. Transmission electron microscopy and ab-initio simulation show that oversaturated oxygen vacancies, together with their ordered metastable distribution along <001 > , are introduced during this non-equilibrium process, and result in a clear defect level significantly narrowing bandgap to less than 1 eV, leading to the considerable electronic conductivity. These results identify a strategy of utilizing this non-equilibrium method in oxide ceramics to realize some unconventional performances determined by metastable structure thoroughly altered down to atomic level.     

Coating Y2O3 nano-particles with ZrO2-additive via precipitation method for colloidal processing of highly transparent Y2O3 ceramics

In the present work, transparent Y₂O₃ ceramics were prepared via colloidal processing method using ZrO₂-coated nano-sized Y₂O₃ powders. The chemical precipitation method was adopted for the coating of Y₂O₃ raw powder. The evolution of the coated-ZrO₂ layer upon calcination was studied. The rheological behaviors of the slurries of Y₂O₃ powders coated with different content of ZrO₂-additive were investigated. The pH_IEP of ZrO₂-coated Y₂O₃ powders shows intermediate values between that of raw Y₂O₃ and ZrO₂ powders. As the ZrO₂-coating concentration increased from 0 to 5.0 at%, the magnitude of the negative zeta potential at pH > pH_IEP shows a general trend of increment, whereas it decreased at pH < pH_IEP. The viscosity decreases pronouncedly with the increase of ZrO₂ content from 0.5 at% to 3.0 at%. The suspensions with low viscosity and high stability was achieved for a solid loading of 35.0 vol% using Y₂O₃ powders coated with 5.0 at% ZrO₂. The dispersed suspensions were consolidated by centrifugal casting method and the green bodies shown improved homogeneity. Transparent Y₂O₃ ceramics were fabricated by vacuum sintering at 1800 ℃ for 5 h. Transmittance at wavelength 800 nm (1.0 mm thick) reached 80.8%, close to the theoretical value of Y₂O₃.     

Pump laser induced photodarkening in ZrO2-doped Yb:Y2O3 laser ceramics

5 at.% Yb:Y₂O₃ transparent ceramics were fabricated using vacuum sintering plus HIP. The ceramics doped with 1 at.% ZrO₂ as the sintering additive were densified at 1700 °C in vacuum followed by HIPing at 1775 °C, while those without sintering additives were densified at 1520 °C in vacuum followed by HIPing at 1450 °C. After sintering, both ceramics had relatively high in-line transmittance. However, during laser experiments, the ZrO₂-doped Yb:Y₂O₃ (Zr-YbY) ceramics were photodarkened when irradiated by 940 nm pump light. The discoloration might be attributed to the formation of Zr³⁺ color centers during lasing. In contrast, no photodarkening effect was detected in the pure Yb:Y₂O₃ ceramics without sintering additives (P-YbY). The P-YbY ceramics exhibited much higher lasing efficiency (17%) than the Zr-YbY ceramics (9%). To our best knowledge, it is the first time that the photodarkening effect was detected in rare-earth doped sesquioxide laser ceramics.     

Influence of inoculum cell density and carbon dioxide concentration on fed-batch cultivation of Nannochloropsis oculata

The marine microalgae Nannochloropsis oculata is a promising source of biofuel because of its high lipid content. For achieving high productivity of oil from microalgae, a high cell concentration before harvesting is beneficial. The present study investigated fed-batch cultures of N. oculata fed with vitamins and nutrient solutions and found that the biomass yield of N. oculata in the fed-batch culture was 1.25 times higher than that in batch culture. Fed-batch cultivation, especially at high illumination, decreased the inhibitory effect of high carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentration on the microalgal growth. The specific growth rate was directly proportional to the light intensity in the CO₂ environment. A light intensity of 40,000 Lux was able to achieve high specific growth rates in fed-batch cultivation at a CO₂ volume fraction of 2%–15%. The tolerance of N. oculata to CO₂ was enhanced by the daily feeding of nutrients in the fed-batch cultivation. At 2% CO₂, a final cell density of about OD₆₈₂ = 11.4 was achieved in the fed-batch culture in 30 days. Furthermore, a cell density of 14.4 g L⁻¹ was obtained by outdoor fed-batch cultivation in 27 days.     

Achieving high energy storage performance of Pb(Lu1/2Nb1/2)O3 antiferroelectric ceramics via equivalent A-site engineering

Manipulating the critical switching field between antiferroelectric (AFE) state and ferroelectric (FE) is an important concept for tuning the energy storage performance of AFEs. As one of the lead-based AFE systems, Pb(Lu_1/2Nb_1/2)O₃ promises high potential in the miniaturization of pulsed power capacitors, but the extremely high critical switching field and low induced saturated polarization demonstrate severe drawbacks with respect to temperature stability and flexibility. Here, A-site Ba²⁺ doping engineering is used to effectively reduce the critical switching field and improve the saturated polarization in Ba_xPb_1-x(Lu_1/2Nb_1/2)O₃ (0.01 ≤ x ≤ 0.08, abbreviated as xBa-PLN) ceramics. We found the AFE-FE phase transition can be occurred at 80ºC with a high energy storage density of 4.03 J/cm³ for Ba_0.06Pb_0.94(Lu_1/2Nb_1/2)O₃ ceramic. Our results show that Ba²⁺ additions destroy the antiparallel structure of AFE phase, and finally reduce the critical switching field, demonstrating a potential alternative to modulate the energy storage performance of AFEs.     

Interface-layer-assisted reliable ferroelectricity in BiFeO3 thin films by chemical solution deposition

BiFeO₃ thin films, specifically those fabricated by chemical solution deposition, suffer from severe leakage that hinder the acquirements of their intrinsic high polarizations and are thus normally not considered for use in practical electronics. The controlled fabrication of thin films with reduced leakage is of vital importance. In the present work, BiFeO₃ films (with thicknesses below ~300 nm), assisted by an interfacial amorphous layer, were fabricated by chemical solution deposition on Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si substrates. This facile method facilitates the growth of the mentioned amorphous layer, and the ferroelectric properties of the obtained films were greatly enhanced. The conducting mechanisms of both types of thin films were systematically investigated to understand the impact of the designed interface. The results not only advance the potential use of BiFeO₃ thin films in electromechanical devices but also promote chemical solution deposition as a promising methodology for the fabrication of high-quality ferroelectric films with compressed leakage.