Mechanical properties,corrosion resistance,and rubber pad forming of cold differential speed-rolled pure titanium for bipolar plates of proton-exchange membrane fuel cells

Due to problems such as pores on surface-treated coatings, the corrosion resistance of pure titanium bipolar plates for proton-exchange membrane fuel cells can be further improved by increasing the corrosion resistance of pure titanium by using differential speed-rolling (DSR); however, these materials have not yet reached the standard requirements of bipolar plates (corrosion current density i_corr＜10³ nA·cm^?2). In this work, the corrosion resistance of pure titanium was improved by optimizing the DSR process while the strength was maintained. The best corrosion resistance of the DSR pure titanium was achieved when the roller speed ratio was 2, while i_corr was 429 nA·cm^?2 in a solution of 0.5 M H₂SO₄ and 2 mg/L HF at room temperature. The formability of the DSR pure titanium for bipolar plates was verified. The optimal holding pressure range was 6.8–7.0 kN.     

Effects of an inhomogeneous electron density distribution on the hydrogen distribution in TiZrTaNbAl multi-principal element alloys

A body-centered cubic equiatomic TiZrTaNbAl multi-principal element alloy (MPEA) with elemental fluctuations was investigated to further understand the relationship between the microstructure and hydrogen distribution. In this study, a composition dependence of the hydrogen distribution was observed in the TiZrTaNbAl MPEA. An inhomogeneous electron density distribution of the MPEA was revealed by advanced differential phase-contrast scanning electron microscopy (DPC-STEM) for the first time. The results showed that the electron density has a significant effect on the hydrogen distribution in TiZrTaNbAl MPEAs. This work provides new insight into the design of materials with high hydrogen storage capacity and high hydrogen embrittlement resistance.     

Unipolar plasma electrolytic oxidation: Waveform optimisation for corrosion resistance of commercially pure titanium

This study deals with the anodisation of titanium grade 2 in 0.5-M sulphuric acid using a pulsed signal in a unipolar regime. The electrical parameters investigated are voltage, frequency and duty cycle. The use of duty cycles with a high percentage of anodic polarisation (90%), combined with high frequencies (1000 Hz) and the higher voltage tested (220 V), favoured the establishment of a plasma regime involving strong dielectric discharges, allowing the growth of thicker oxides but with rough architecture. The corrosion resistance of the formed film has been characterised by potentiodynamic tests in 0.5-M NaBr for localised corrosion resistance and by immersion tests in 10% v/v sulphuric acid solution for a uniform corrosion assessment. Current–time curves, visual observations and electron microscope analysis (scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy) were the tools selected to provide a correlation between technological parameters and oxide growth mechanism. For localised and uniform corrosion, anodisation at 220 V with a high level of anodic polarisation (90%) and frequency (1000 Hz) was verified to be particularly advantageous.     

Surface treatment of titanium dioxide nanopowder using rotary electrode dielectric barrier discharge reactor

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanopowder (P-25;Degussa AG) was treated using dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) in a rotary electrode DBD (RE-DBD) reactor.Its electrical and optical characteristics were investigated during RE-DBD generation.The treated TiO2 nanopowder properties and structures were analyzed using x-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR).After RE-DBD treatment,XRD measurements indicated that the anatase peak theta positions shifted from 25.3° to 25.1°,which can be attributed to the substitution of new functional groups in the TiO2 lattice.The FTIR results show that hydroxyl groups (OH) at 3400 cm-1 increased considerably.The mechanism used to modify the TiO2 nanopowder surface by air DBD treatment was confirmed from optical emission spectrum measurements.Reactive species,such as OH radical,ozone and atomic oxygen can play key roles in hydroxyl formation on the TiO2 nanopowder surface.     

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.     

Novel Bi-Doped Amorphous SnOx Nanoshells for Efficient Electrochemical CO2 Reduction into Formate at Low Overpotentials

Engineering novel Sn-based bimetallic materials could provide intriguing catalytic properties to boost the electrochemical CO₂ reduction. Herein, the first synthesis of homogeneous Sn_1−xBi_x alloy nanoparticles (x up to 0.20) with native Bi-doped amorphous SnO_x shells for efficient CO₂ reduction is reported. The Bi-SnO_x nanoshells boost the production of formate with high Faradaic efficiencies (>90%) over a wide potential window (−0.67 to −0.92 V vs RHE) with low overpotentials, outperforming current tin oxide catalysts. The state-of-the-art Bi-SnO_x nanoshells derived from Sn_0.80Bi_0.20 alloy nanoparticles exhibit a great partial current density of 74.6 mA cm⁻² and high Faradaic efficiency of 95.8%. The detailed electrocatalytic analyses and corresponding density functional theory calculations simultaneously reveal that the incorporation of Bi atoms into Sn species facilitates formate production by suppressing the formation of H₂ and CO.     

In-situ TEM observation of structural changes in nano-crystalline CoCrCuFeNi multicomponent high-entropy alloy (HEA) under fast electron irradiation by high voltage electron microscopy (HVEM)

The structural changes induced in a CoCrCuFeNi multicomponent nano-crystalline high-entropy alloy (HEA) under fast electron irradiation were investigated by in-situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) using a high voltage electron microscope (HVEM). A fine-grained face centered cubic (fcc) single phase was obtained in the sputtered specimens. The fcc solid solution showed high phase stability against irradiation over a wide temperature range from 298 to 773 K, and remained as the main constituent phase even when the samples were irradiated up to 40 displacement per atom (dpa). Moreover, the irradiation did not seem to induce grain coarsening. This is the first report on the irradiation damage in 5-component HEA under MeV electron irradiation.     

Thermal and transport properties of as-grown Ni-rich TiNi shape memory alloys

Electrical resistivity, Seebeck coefficient, specific heat and thermal conductivity measurements on the Ti_50−xNi_50+x (x = 0.0–1.6 at.%) shape memory alloys are performed to investigate their thermal and transport properties. In this study, anomalous features are observed in both cooling and heating cycles in all measured physical properties of the slightly Ni-rich TiNi alloys (x ≤ 1.0), corresponds to the transformation between the B19′ martensite and B2 austenite phases. Besides, the transition temperature is found to decrease gradually with increasing Ni content, and the driving force for the transition is also found to diminish slowly with the addition of excess Ni, as revealed by specific heat measurements. While the signature of martensitic transformation vanishes for the Ni-rich TiNi alloys with x ≥ 1.3, the characteristics of strain glass transition start to appear. The Seebeck coefficients of these TiNi alloys were found to be positive, suggesting the hole-type carriers dominate the thermoelectric transport. From the high-temperature Seebeck coefficients, the estimated value of Fermi energy ranges from ∼1.5 eV (Ti_48.4Ni_51.6) to ∼2.1 eV (Ti₅₀Ni₅₀), indicating the metallic nature of these alloys. In addition, the thermal conductivity of the slightly Ni-rich TiNi alloys with x ≤ 1.0 shows a distinct anomalous feature at the B19′ → B2 transition, likely due to the variation in lattice thermal conductivity.     

Alloying behavior and novel properties of CoCrFeNiMn high-entropy alloy fabricated by mechanical alloying and spark plasma sintering

An equiatomic CoCrFeNiMn high-entropy alloy was synthesized by mechanical alloying (MA) and spark plasma sintering (SPS). During MA, a solid solution with refined microstructure of 10 nm which consists of a FCC phase and a BCC phase was formed. After SPS consolidation, only one FCC phase can be detected in the HEA bulks. The as-sintered bulks exhibit high compressive strength of 1987 MPa. An interesting magnetic transition associated with the structure coarsening and phase transformation was observed during SPS process.