Microstructural and mechanical properties assessment of transient liquid phase bonding of CoCuFeMnNi high entropy alloy

The transient liquid phase (TLP) bonding of CoCuFeMnNi high entropy alloy (HEA) was studied. The TLP bonding was performed using AWS BNi-2 interlayer at 1050 °C with the TLP bonding time of 20, 60, 180 and 240 min. The effect of bonding time on the joint microstructure was characterized by SEM and EDS. Microstructural results confirmed that complete isothermal solidification occurred approximately at 240 min of bonding time. For samples bonded at 20, 60 and 180 min, athermal solidification zone was formed in the bonding area which included Cr-rich boride and Mn₃Si intermetallic compound. For all samples, the γ solid solution was formed in the isothermal solidification zone of the bonding zone. To evaluate the effect of TLP bonding time on mechanical properties of joints, the shear strength and micro-hardness of joints were measured. The results indicated a decrement of micro-hardness in the bonding zone and an increment of micro-hardness in the adjacent zone of joints. The minimum and maximum values of shear strength were 100 and 180 MPa for joints with the bonding time of 20 and 240 min, respectively.     

Detection of 5-HMF in apple juice with artificial sensing systems

5-HMF (5-hydroxymethyl-furfural) is a product of thermal treatment and is increasingly considered a food contaminant. Here, different concentrations of 5-HMF were measured in apple juice to evaluate the performance of the electronic nose (EN) and electronic tongue (ET) as rapid detection techniques for 5-HMF when coupled with chemometric analysis. Principal component analysis (PCA) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) evaluated the discrimination capacity of EN and ET for 5-HMF. Loading analysis examined the discrimination contribution of the EN sensors. Partial least square (PLS) regression analysis established a quantitative prediction model for different concentrations of 5-HMF based on EN and ET data set. The optimal models had a coefficient of determination (R²) of 0.926 and a root-mean-square error of prediction (RMSEP) of 0.4168 in EN; there were R² of 0.914 and RMSEP of 0.5836 in ET. These results demonstrate that EN and ET coupled with chemometric analysis are two promising approaches for the rapid and online detection of 5-HMF in apple juice.     

New insights into microstructural changes during transient liquid phase bonding of GTD-111 superalloy

The effects of joining temperature (T_J) and time (t_J) on microstructure of the transient liquid phase (TLP) bonding of GTD-111 superalloy were investigated. The bonding process was applied using BNi-3 filler at temperatures of 1080, 1120, and 1160 °C for isothermal solidification time of 195, 135, and 90 min, respectively. Homogenization heat treatment was also applied to all of the joints. The results show that intermetallic and eutectic compounds such as Ni-rich borides, Ni−B−Si ternary compound and eutectic-γ continuously are formed in the joint region during cooling. By increasing t_J, intermetallic phases are firstly reduced and eventually eliminated and isothermal solidification is completed as well. With the increase of the holding time at all of the three bonding temperatures, the thickness of the athermally solidified zone (ASZ) and the volume fraction of precipitates in the bonding area decrease and the width of the diffusion affected zone (DAZ) increases. Similar results are also obtained by increasing T_J from 1080 to 1160 °C at t_J=90 min. Furthermore, increasing the T_J from 1080 to 1160 °C leads to the faster elimination of intermetallic phases from the ASZ. However, these phases are again observed in the joint region at 1180 °C. It is observed that by increasing the bonding temperature, the bonding width and the rate of dissolution of the base metal increase. Based on these results, increasing the homogenization time from 180 to 300 min leads to the elimination of boride precipitates in the DAZ and a high uniformity of the concentration of alloying elements in the joint region and the base metal.     

TiO2/MXene-Assisted LDI-MS for Urine Metabolic Profiling in Urinary Disease

Cancer remains an intractable medical problem. Rapid diagnosis and identification of cancer are critical to differentiate it from nonmalignant diseases. High-throughput biofluid metabolic analysis has potential for cancer diagnosis. Nevertheless, the present metabolite analysis method does not meet the demand for high-throughput screening of diseases. Herein, a high-throughput, cost-effective, and noninvasive urine metabolic profiling method based on TiO₂/MXene-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (LDI-MS) is presented for the efficient screening of bladder cancer (BC) and nonmalignant urinary disease. Combined with machine learning, TiO₂/MXene-assisted LDI-MS enables high diagnostic accuracy (96.8%) for the classification of patient groups (including 47 BC and 46 ureteral calculus (UC) patients) from healthy controls (113 cases). In addition, BC patients can also be identified from noncancerous UC individuals with an accuracy of 88.3% in the independent test cohort. Furthermore, metabolite variations between BC and UC individuals are investigated based on relative quantification, and related pathways are also discussed. These results suggest that this method, based on urine metabolic patterns, provides a potential tool for rapidly distinguishing urinary diseases and it may pave the way for precision medicine.     

A Novel Strategy for Preparing Stretchable and Reliable Biphasic Liquid Metal

Low‐melting liquid metal is a hugely promising material for flexible conductive patterns due to its excellent conductivity and supercompliance, especially low‐cost and environmental liquid processing technology. However, the ever‐present fluidity characteristic greatly limits the stable shape and reliability of prepared liquid metal conductive electronics. Herein, a novel solidification strategy of liquid GaIn alloys by Ni doping and heat treatment is first reported, which can efficiently create a solid phase in the liquid metal and provide an effective solution for practical applications. Particularly, the liquid characteristic is preserved for conveniently fabricating different flexible electronic circuits, and then the solidification is carried out on prepared conductive patterns by heat treatment. The solidification mechanism is revealed by the interface chemical reaction between Ni and GaIn, creating the solid phase of intermetallic compound (Ga₄Ni₃ and InNi₃) during heat treatment. Moreover, a biphasic GaInNi can be obtained by regulating the atomic ratio of gallium, indium, and nickel. As a result, the obtained GaInNi possesses extremely low sheet resistance (15 ± 4.5 to 135 ± 2.5 mΩ sq^?1) and the variation of ΔR/R₀ exhibits low level (0–2) when strained up to 100%, which offers a promising strategy to prepare stretchable and reliable liquid metal electronics.     

耐蚀合金中TiN析出机制

摘要：TiN颗粒尺寸及其分布对耐蚀合金性能有明显的影响，因此有必要对TiN在铸坯中的分布及其析出行为进行研究。采用扫描电镜(SEM)、金相显微镜（OM）观察了TiN夹杂物在铸坯中的分布、尺寸及其形貌；基于热力学和动力学理论分析了耐蚀合金铸坯中TiN夹杂物的析出时机及其尺寸，结合试验结果和理论计算明确了TiN夹杂物在凝固后铸坯中的位置和尺寸与析出时机的关系，为控制TiN夹杂物提供理论指导。结果表明，冶炼过程中析出的TiN夹杂物尺寸较大，在凝固过程中被枝晶吞没，位于铸坯枝晶内和等轴晶内；微观偏析计算结果表明，在凝固分数为0.55时，TiN开始析出，最开始析出TiN夹杂物的逐渐长大，长大后的TiN易于被二次枝晶吞没，最终位于铸坯中的枝晶间和等轴晶内，后期析出的TiN则在枝晶间和等轴晶间。固相中析出的TiN夹杂物长大较慢，尺寸细小，最终位于奥氏体晶界。     

Probing the degenerate pattern growth of {100}<011> orientation in a directionally solidified Al-4.5 wt% Cu alloy

Degenerate pattern is a seemingly disordered morphology but it exhibits the inherently ordered crystal connected with tip-splitting and limited stability which makes it difficult to observe in the metallic system. Here we employ (100)[011] orientated planar-front seeds using directional solidification and reveal the fundamental origins of the degenerate pattern growth in an Al-4.5 wt% Cu alloy. We find that the spacing of the tip-splitting (λ) in the degenerate of the alloys followed a power law, λ∝V^−0.5, and the frequency (f) of the splitting was related to the growth velocity (V) by ƒ∝V^1.5. The dimensionless growth direction (θ/θ₀) increased monotonously and approached 0.6 with faster velocity, attributed to its anisotropy in the interface kinetics. Once growth velocity exceeded a threshold, two types of pattern transitions from degenerate to regular dendrites were proposed. One of them exhibited a random and chaotic mode and the other underwent a rotation in growth direction.     

Solidification of Be-free Ni-based dental alloy

A novel, Nb- and Si-rich and Be-free Ni-based alloy was cast by two methods of investment casting and continuous casting to study the microstructure evolution during solidification and its mechanical properties. The solidification of the alloy started with the primary crystallization of FCC-γ, followed by a binary eutectic reaction, with the formation of a heterogeneous constituent: FCC-γ+G-phase, which replaced the low-melting eutectic (FCC-γ+NiBe) in the Be-bearing alloys. AlNi₆Si₃ and γ′ formed during the terminal stages of solidification by investment casting, while the formation of AlNi₆Si₃ was suppressed by continuous casting. The Scheil solidification model agreed very well with the experimental results.     

通过RRLC-Q-TOF MS和UPLC-QQQ MS分析原人参三醇型皂苷在人肠道菌群中的代谢产物

通过高分离度快速液相色谱-四极杆飞行时间质谱(RRLC-Q-TOF MS)和超高效液相色谱-三重四极杆质谱(UPLC-QQQ MS)法对原人参三醇型皂苷Re、Rg 1、Rg 2、Rh 1、Rf、F 1、R 1在人肠道菌群中的转化产物进行定性、定量分析,确定原人参三醇型皂苷的代谢产物、转化途径和60 h时的转化率。结果表明,人参皂苷Re的转化产物为人参皂苷Rg 1、Rg 2、Rh 1、F 1和PPT,转化率为91%;人参皂苷Rg 1的转化产物为人参皂苷Rh 1、F 1和PPT,转化率为80%;人参皂苷Rg 2的转化产物为人参皂苷Rh 1和PPT,转化率为73%;人参皂苷Rh 1和F 1主要通过PPT代谢,转化率分别为82%和81%;人参皂苷Rf的转化产物为人参皂苷Rh 1和PPT,转化率为89%;三七皂苷R 1的转化产物为人参皂苷Rg 1、R 2、Rh 1和PPT,转化率为79%。原人参三醇型皂苷类成分可被人肠道菌群代谢,主要通过丢失糖残基形成转化产物,而次级皂苷和苷元是人参在体内发挥药理作用的物质基础。