B4C–TiB2 composites fabricated by hot pressing TiC–B mixtures: The effect of B excess

Previous research have reported that B₄C–TiB₂ composites could be prepared by the reactive sintering of TiC–B powder mixtures. However, due to spontaneous oxidation of raw powders, using TiC–B powder mixtures with a B/TiC molar ratio of 6: 1 introduced an intermediate phase of C during the sintering process, which deteriorated the hardness of the composites. In this report, the effects of B excess on the phase composition, microstructure, and mechanical properties of B₄C–TiB₂ composites fabricated by reactive hot pressing TiC–B powder mixtures were investigated. XRD and Raman spectra confirmed that lattice expansion occurred in B-rich boron carbide and B_xC–TiB₂ (x > 4) composites were obtained. The increasing B content improved the hardness and fracture toughness but decreased the flexural strength of B_xC–TiB₂ (x > 4) composites. When the molar ratio of B/TiC increased from 6.6:1 to 7.8:1, the Vickers hardness and the fracture toughness of the composites were enhanced from 26.7 GPa and 4.53 MPa m^1/2 to 30.4 GPa and 5.78 MPa m^1/2, respectively. The improved hardness was attributed to the microstructural improvement, while the toughening mechanism was crack deflection, crack bridging and crack branching.     

Performance of BaZrO3/Y2O3 dual-phase refractory applied to TiAl alloy melting

Vacuum induction melting is a potential process for the preparation of TiAl alloys with good homogeneity and low cost. But the crucial problem is a selection of high stability refractory. In this study, a BaZrO₃/Y₂O₃ dual-phase refractory was prepared and its performance for melting TiAl alloys was studied and compared with that of a Y₂O₃ refractory. The results showed the dual-phase refractory consisted of BaZr_1-xY_xO_3-δ and Y₂O₃(ZrO₂), exhibited a thinner interaction layer (30 μm) than the Y₂O₃ refractory (90 μm) after melting the TiAl alloy. Although the TiAl alloys melted in the dual-phase and Y₂O₃ refractory exhibited similar oxygen contamination (<0.1 wt%), the alloy melted in the dual-phase refractory had smaller Y₂O₃ inclusion content and size than that in the Y₂O₃ refractory, indicating that the dual-phase refractory exhibited a better melting performance than the Y₂O₃ refractory. This study provides insights into the process of designing highly stable refractory for melting TiAl alloys.     

Synthesis and characterization of transition metal mixed oxide doped graphene embedded durable electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction

A promising electrocatalyst containing variable percentage of V₂O₅–TiO₂ mixed oxide in graphene oxide support was prepared by embedding the catalyst on Cu substrate through facile electroless Ni–Co–P plating for hydrogen evolution reaction. The solvothermal decomposition method was opted for tuning the crystalline characteristics of prepared material. The optimized mixed oxide was well characterized, active sites centres were identified and explained by X-ray diffraction, high resolution tunnelling electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray and X-ray photon spectroscopy analysis. The structural and electronic characteristics of material was done by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and the electrochemical behaviour of the prepared material was evaluated by using Tafel plot, electrochemical impedance analysis, linear sweep voltammetry, open circuit analysis and chronoamperometry measurements. The results show the enhanced catalytic activity of Ni–Co–P than pure Ni–P plate, due to synergic effect. Moreover, the prepared mixed oxide incorporated Ni–Co–P plate has a high activity towards HER with low over potential of 101 mV, low Tafel slope of 36 mVdec^?1, high exchange current density of 9.90 × 10^?2 Acm^?2.     

Development and characterisation of a Y2Ti2O7-based glass-ceramic as a potential oxidation protective coating for titanium suboxide (TiOx)

A silica-based glass-ceramic, with Y₂Ti₂O₇ as the major crystalline phase, is designed, characterised and tested as an oxidation-protective coating for a titanium suboxide (TiO_x) thermoelectric material at temperatures of up to 600 °C. The optimised sinter-crystallisation treatment temperatures are found to be 1300 °C and 855 °C for a duration of 30 min, and this treatment leads to a glass-ceramic with cubic Y₂Ti₂O₇ and CaAl₂Si₂O₈ as crystalline phases. An increase of ~270 °C in the dilatometric softening temperature is observed after devitrification of the parent glass, thus further extending its working temperature range.Excellent adhesion of the glass-ceramic coating to the thermoelectric material is maintained after exposure to a temperature of 600 °C for 120 h under oxidising conditions, thus confirming the effectiveness of the T1 glass-ceramic in protecting the TiO_x material.     

Crystalline phase of TiO2 nanotube arrays on Ti–35Nb–4Zr alloy: Surface roughness,electrochemical behavior and cellular response

An investigation was made into the electrochemical, structural and biological properties of self-organized amorphous and anatase/rutile titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nanotubes deposited on Ti–35Nb–4Zr alloy through anodization-induced surface modification. The surface of as-anodized and heat-treated TiO₂ nanotubes was analyzed by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), revealing morphological parameters such as tube diameter, wall thickness and cross-sectional length. Glancing angle X-ray diffraction (GAXRD) was employed to identify the structural phases of titanium dioxide, while atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to measure surface roughness associated with cell interaction properties. The electrochemical stability of TiO₂ was examined by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and the results obtained were correlated with the microstructural characterization. The in vitro bioactivity of as-anodized and crystallized TiO₂ nanotubes was also analyzed as a function of the presence of different TiO₂ polymorphic phases. The results indicated that anatase TiO₂ showed higher surface corrosion resistance and greater cell viability than amorphous TiO₂, confirming that TiO₂ nanotube crystallization plays an important role in the material's electrochemical behavior and biocompatibility.     

Designing amorphous formulations of polyphenols with naringin by spray-drying for enhanced solubility and permeability

Naringin (NAR), a major flavanone (FVA) glycoside, is a component of food mainly obtained from grapefruit. We used NAR as a food additive to improve the solubility and permeability of hydrophobic polyphenols used as supplements in the food industry. The spray-dried particles (SDPs) of NAR alone show an amorphous state with a glass transition temperature (T_g) at 93.2 °C. SDPs of hydrophobic polyphenols, such as flavone (FVO), quercetin (QCT), naringenin (NRG), and resveratrol (RVT) were prepared by adding varying amounts of NAR. All SDPs of hydrophobic polyphenols with added NAR were in an amorphous state with a single T_g, but SDPs of hydrophobic polyphenols without added NAR showed diffraction peaks derived from each crystal. The SDPs with NAR could keep an amorphous state after storage at a high humidity condition for one month, except for SDPs of RVT/NAR. SDPs with NAR enhanced the solubility of hydrophobic polyphenols, especially NRG solubility, which was enhanced more than 9 times compared to NRG crystal. The enhanced solubility resulted in the increased membrane permeability of NRG. The antioxidant effect of the hydrophobic NRG was also enhanced by the synergetic effect of NAR. The findings demonstrated that NAR could be used as a food additive to enhance the solubility and membrane permeability of hydrophobic polyphenols.     

The influence of FeNi nanoparticles on the microstructures and soft magnetic properties of FeSi soft magnetic composites

In this work, a new type of FeSi/FeNi soft magnetic powder core (SMPC) was successfully fabricated by coating FeNi nanoparticles on the surface of FeSi micrometer powder. The effects of different contents of FeNi nanoparticles on the micromorphology, internal structures, and soft magnetic properties of SMPCs were studied. The results show that FeNi nanoparticles adhere to the surface of FeSi powder, which can effectively fill the air gap between FeSi powder and is beneficial to the compaction of the powder cores during the pressing process. Thus, the density of the SMPCs is increased. Compared to FeSi SMPCs, the comprehensive soft magnetic properties of FeSi/FeNi SMPCs have been greatly improved. When adding 15 wt% FeNi nanoparticles, the SMPCs exhibit excellent magnetic properties with high effective permeability (increased by 43.8 %) and low core loss (decreased by 22.1 %). The high performance FeSi/FeNi SMPCs prepared in this work are expected to be widely used in power choke coils, uninterruptible power supplies, and boosts and inverter inductors.     

Novel TiC-based composites with enhanced mechanical properties

Novel TiC-based composites were synthesized by reactive hot-pressing at 1800 °C for 1 h with ZrB₂ addition as a sintering aid for the first time. The effects of ZrB₂ contents on the phase composition, microstructure evolution, and mechanical properties were reported. Based on the reaction and solid solution coupling effects between ZrB₂ and TiC, the product ZrC may be partially or completely dissolved into the TiC matrix, and then phase separation within the miscibility gap is observed to form lamellar nanostructured ZrC-rich (Zr, Ti)C. The TiC-10 mol.% ZrB₂ (starting batch composition) exhibits good comprehensive mechanical properties of hardness 27.7 ± 1.3 GPa, flexural strength 659 ± 48 MPa, and fracture toughness of 6.5 ± 0.6 MPa m^1/2, respectively, which reach or exceed most TiC-based composites using ceramics as sintering aids in the previous reports.     

柿竹园多金属矿选矿废水处理试验研究

针对柿竹园多金属矿选矿废水量大、难沉降、pH值高、COD高等特点,研究了石灰沉降+ZJYH03氧化法、石灰沉降+漂白粉氧化法、石灰沉降+NaClO氧化法、聚合硫酸铁沉降+ZJYH03氧化法和石灰沉降+生物氧化法等废水处理工艺,并对比分析了各工艺的处理效果和药剂成本,结果表明: 聚合硫酸铁沉降+ZJYH03氧化法取得了较好的处理效果,该方法具有工艺简单、水质无色透明、药剂成本低等特点。