Fabrication and properties of pressure-sintered reaction-bonded Si3N4 ceramics with addition of Eu2O3–MgO–Y2O3

Dense pressure-sintered reaction-bonded Si₃N₄ (PSRBSN) ceramics were obtained by a hot-press sintering method. Precursor Si powders were prepared with Eu₂O₃–MgO–Y₂O₃ sintering additive. The addition of Eu₂O₃–MgO–Y₂O₃ was shown to promote full nitridation of the Si powder. The nitrided Si₃N₄ particles had an equiaxial morphology, without whisker formation, after the Si powders doped with Eu₂O₃–MgO–Y₂O₃ were nitrided at 1400 °C for 2 h. After hot pressing, the relative density, Vickers hardness, flexural strength, and fracture toughness of the PSRBSN ceramics, with 5 wt% Eu₂O₃ doping, were 98.3 ± 0.2%, 17.8 ± 0.8 GPa, 697.0 ± 67.0 MPa, and 7.3 ± 0.3 MPa m^1/2, respectively. The thermal conductivity was 73.6 ± 0.2 W m^?1 K^?1, significantly higher than the counterpart without Eu₂O₃ doping, or with ZrO₂ doping by conventional methods.     

Effects of the joining process on the microstructure and properties of liquid-phase-sintered SiC-SiC joints formed with Ti foil

The joining of liquid-phase sintered SiC (LPS-SiC) ceramics was conducted using spark plasma sintering (SPS), through solid state diffusion bonding, with Ti-metal foil as a joining interlayer. Samples were joined at 1400 °C, under applied pressures of either 10 or 30 MPa, and with different atmospheres (argon, Ar, vs. vacuum). It was demonstrated that the shear strength of the joints increased with an increase in the applied joining pressure. The joining atmosphere also affected on both the microstructure and shear strength of the SiC joints. The composition and microstructure of the interlayer were examined to understand the mechanism. As a result, a SiC-SiC joining with a good mechanical performance could be achieved under an Ar environment, which in turn could provide a cost-effective approach and greatly widen the applications of SiC ceramic components with complex shape.     

Dense and core-rim structured B4C-TiB2 ceramics with Mo-Co-WC additive

B₄C-TiB₂ ceramics (TiB₂ ranging 5~70 vol%) with Mo-Co-WC as the sintering additive were prepared by spark plasma sintering. In comparison with B₄C-TiB₂ without additive, the enhanced densification was evident in the sintered specimen with Mo-Co-WC additive. Core-rim structured grain was observed around TiB₂ grains. The interface of the rim between TiB₂ and B₄C phases demonstrated different feature: the inner borderline of the rim exhibited a smooth feature, whereas a sharp curved grain boundary was observed between the rim and the B₄C grain. The formation mechanism is discussed: the epitaxial growth of (Ti,Mo,W)B₂ rim around the TiB₂ core may occur as a result of the solid solution and dissolution-precipitation between TiB₂ phase and the sintering additive. It was revealed that the fracture toughness increased as the content of TiB₂ content increased, alongside the decreased hardness. B₄C-30 vol% TiB₂ specimen demonstrated the optimal combination of mechanical properties, reaching Vickers hardness of 24.3 GPa and fracture toughness of 3.33 MPa·m^1/2.     

Influence of whisker-aspect-ratio on densification,microstructure and mechanical properties of Al2O3 whiskers-reinforced CeO2-stabilized ZrO2 composites

A novel composite of 12 mol% CeO₂-stablized tetragonal ZrO₂ reinforced with Al₂O₃ whiskers (designated as Ce-TZP/A_w) has been prepared and studied in this work. The objective of this investigation was to systematically study the influence of whisker-aspect-ratio on the densification behaviors, microstructure evolution, and mechanical properties of Ce-TZP/A_w composite. Results showed that the sintered density of composite increased and the grain growth tended to diminish with the decrease in whisker aspect radio. Both the fracture toughness and flexural strength reached maximum values of 475 ± 12 MPa and 11.4 ± 0.2 MPa m^1/2, respectively at a whisker aspect ratio of about 12. It was also observed that the fracture toughness, flexural strength and tetragonal to monoclinic ZrO₂ transformation of the dual-phase composite exhibited similar variation trend as a function of the whisker-aspect-ratio, which suggested that the stress-induced phase transformation should be the main toughening and strengthening mechanism in the Ce-TZP/A_w composite.     

Facile joining of SiC ceramics with screen-printed polycarbosilane without pressure

Joining of SiC ceramics was successfully achieved at a relatively low temperature of 1500 °C without any pressure using pure polycarbosilane (PCS) as the joining material, which was distributed homogenously on the surface of SiC monolith through a screen printing method. The XRD pattern shows that the pyrolysis product of PCS is single-phase SiC. The interlayer thickness of the SiC joint is approximately 2 μm. This ultra-thin interlayer with lower possibility of the existence of defects contributes to the average shear strength of 105.8 ± 10.4 MPa, higher than that of other works using other preceramic polymers to the best of our knowledge. Due to the simplicity, low cost and high joining strength, the screen printing method using PCS as the joining material has good practicality in SiC ceramics joining.     

Hardness and toughness improvement of SiC-based ceramics with the addition of (Hf0.2Mo0.2Ta0.2Nb0.2Ti0.2)B2

The influences of different contents ranging 0–15 wt% of high-entropy boride (HEB) (Hf_0.2Mo_0.2Ta_0.2Nb_0.2Ti_0.2)B₂ on the mechanical properties of SiC-based ceramics using Al₂O₃-Y₂O₃ sintering additives sintered by spark plasma sintering process were investigated in this study. The results showed that the introduction of 5 and 10 wt% (Hf_0.2Mo_0.2Ta_0.2Nb_0.2Ti_0.2)B₂ could facilitate the densification and the grain growth of SiC-based ceramics via the mechanism of liquid phase sintering. However, the grain growth of SiC-based ceramics was inhibited by the grain boundary pinning effect with the addition of 15 wt% (Hf_0.2Mo_0.2Ta_0.2Nb_0.2Ti_0.2)B₂. The SiC-based ceramics with 15 wt% (Hf_0.2Mo_0.2Ta_0.2Nb_0.2Ti_0.2)B₂ showed the enhanced hardness (21.9±0.7 GPa) and high toughness (4.88±0.88 MPa·m^1/2) as compared with high-entropy phase-free SiC-based ceramics, which exhibited a hardness of 16.6 GPa and toughness of 3.10 MPa·m^1/2. The enhancement in mechanical properties was attributed to the addition of higher hardness of HEB phase, crack deflection toughening mechanism, and presence of residual stress due to the mismatch of coefficient of thermal expansion.     

Intracellular Delivery of Proteins with Cell-Penetrating Peptides for Therapeutic Uses in Human Disease

Protein therapy exhibits several advantages over small molecule drugs and is increasingly being developed for the treatment of disorders ranging from single enzyme deficiencies to cancer. Cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs), a group of small peptides capable of promoting transport of molecular cargo across the plasma membrane, have become important tools in promoting the cellular uptake of exogenously delivered proteins. Although the molecular mechanisms of uptake are not firmly established, CPPs have been empirically shown to promote uptake of various molecules, including large proteins over 100 kiloDaltons (kDa). Recombinant proteins that include a CPP tag to promote intracellular delivery show promise as therapeutic agents with encouraging success rates in both animal and human trials. This review highlights recent advances in protein-CPP therapy and discusses optimization strategies and potential detrimental effects.     

一种低功耗宽频带LDO线性稳压电路设计

设计了一种用HHNEC0.35μmBCD工艺实现的LDO线性稳压器,该LDO是一款低功耗,带宽大的低压差线性稳压器。对其结构和工作原理进行分析,讨论了关键电路的设计,模拟结果验证了设计的正确性。     

New iterative method for model updating based on model reduction

Model reduction technique is usually employed in model updating process. Here, a new iterative method associating the model updating method with the model reduction technique is investigated. Using the traditional iterative method, the errors resulted from replacing the reduction matrix of the experimental model with that of the finite element (FE) model are not fully considered, which needs more iterations and computing time. In order to reduce the errors produced in the replacement, a new iterative method is proposed based on the traditional method, in which the correction term related to the errors is added. The comparisons between the traditional iterative method and the proposed iterative method are shown by model updating examples of solar panels and both of these two iterative methods combine the cross-model cross-mode (CMCM) method and the succession-level approximate reduction (SAR) technique. The results indicate that the convergence rate and the computing time of the new method are significantly superior to those of the traditional iterative method with or without noise.