Growth,Characterization and Micro-pattern Fabrication of Iridium/Si3N4/Si（100） Thin Films

Iridium thin films have been deposited on Si3N4（100 nm）/Si（100） substrates by magnetron sputtering. And then iridium film micro-patterns were fabricated by ion milling technique. The atomic force microscopy （AFM） measurements reveal that there is a very fiat and smooth surface with an average roughness of 0.64 nm for the iridium films. The X-ray diffraction also reveals that the deposited iridium films have a polycrystalline microstructure with （111） plane preferential orientation. The electrical resistivity of the iridium films was also measured and discussed.     

Preparation and Microstructural Analysis of Ti2AlC/TiAl（Nb） Composite

By using the spark plasma sintering process, Ti2AlC/TiAlcomposite with the addition of Niobium （Nb） was prepared in-situ and the microstructure of Ti2AlC/TiAl （Nb） composite was investigated by means of transmission electron microscopy （TEM） and high-resolution electron microscopy （HREM）. The results indicate that new-formed Ti2AIC particles disperse with a high degree of uniformity and well combine with the matrix. In the area of phase interface the d-spaces of Ti2AlC （100） and TiAI （110） were measured as 0.2648 nm and 0.2991 nm,respectively. The atom arrangement beside the interface was only partly corresponding, existing in semicoherent state. On the contrary, in the area of grain interface the d-spaces of TiAl （100） and TiAl （110） were measured as 0.2462 nm and 0.2631 nm,respectively and the atom arrangement beside the interface was almost corresponding, existing in coherent state.     

Crystallization of Fe78Si9B13 Bulk Crystaline/Amorphous (c/a) Composite

A metallic crystalline/amorphous (c/a) bulk composite was prepared by the slow cooling method after remelting the amorphous Fe78Si9B13 ribbon. By X-ray diffraction (XRD),differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and scanning electron microscope (SEM), the composite consists of the primary dendrite a-Fe (without Si) as well as the amorphous matrix. After being anneal at 800 K, the uniform spheroid particles are formed in the c/a composite, which does not form in the amorphous ribbon under the various annealing process. Energy dispersive analysis of X-rays (EDAX), SEM and XRD were applied to give more detailed information. The formation and evolution of the particle may stimulate the possible application of the Fe-matrix amorphous alloy.     

Effects of annealing processes on Cu<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>Si<Subscript>1-<Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript> thin films

The Cu _x Si_1-x thin films have been grown by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) with in situ annealing on Si (001) and Si (111), respectively. The transformation of phase was detected by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results showed that the as-deposited films were composed of Cu on both Si (001) and Si (111). The annealed thin films consisted of Cu + η”-Cu₃Si on Si (001) while Cu + η’-Cu₃Si on Si (111), respectively, at annealed temperature (T _a) = 300-600 °C. With the further increasing of T _a, at T _a= 700 °C, there was only one main phase, η”-Cu₃Si on Si (001) while η’-Cu₃Si on Si (111), respectively. The annealed thin films transformed from continuous dense structure to scattered-grain morphology with increasing T _a detected by field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM). It was also showed that the grain size would enlarge with increasing annealing time (t _a).     

Precipitation and Hetero-nucleation Effect of V（C,N） in V-Microalloyed Steel

The precipitation behavior of V（C, N） in steels microalloyed with vanadium was researched using a thermal simulator during single-pass deformation at 800-750 ℃. The V（C, N） precipitates and its nucleation effect on ferrite were investigated by TEM and EDS. The experimental results show that there are two remarkable heterogeneous nucleation effects of V（C, N） particles precipitated before γ →/ α phase change： primary reason is that high coherency between V（C, N） and ferrite promotes V（C, N） to become a nucleating center of intragranular ferrite; secondary reason is that the coarsening of V（C, N） causes locally solute-poor region in austenite, thus expedites the nucleation of intragranular ferrites further. Furthermore, the relationship between the size and shape of V（C, N） was studied, and identification method was provided for distinguishing interphase precipitation and general precipitation to avoid erroneous judgment and misguide.     

Straight SiO<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript> nanorod Y junctions

Novel straight silicon oxide [SiO _x (1<x<2)] nanorod Y junctions have been synthesized on Si plate by thermal evaporation of mixed powders of silica and carbon nanofibers at 1300°C and condensation on a Si substrate without assistance of any catalyst. The synthesized samples were characterized by means of scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, high resolution transmission electron microscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The results suggested that the straight nanorod Y junctions are amorphous and consist only of elements Si and O, and these rods with diameters about 50–200 nm have a neat smooth surface. The growth of such silicon oxide nanorods may be a result of the second nucleation on the surface of rods causing a change in the growth direction of silicon oxide nanorods developed. Supported by the Academic Human Resources Development in Institutions of Higher Learning under the Jurisdiction of Beijing, and the Program of Science & Technology Activity for Chinese Homecoming Fellow Abroad and Research Program of Beijing Key Laboratory for Sensor (Grant No. KM200810772009)     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">In situ</Emphasis> preparation of nanoparticles/polymer composites

Nanoparticle (NP) is the matter between molecule and bulk material. It has attracted much attention in catalysis, optoelectronics and biology due to its unique physical and chemical properties. Incorporation of these NPs into the polymer matrix is one of the best methods to display their special functions, which not only stabilize the NPs but also realize the functional assembly of NPs and polymers. However, realization of this idea depends largely on the compatibility of NPs and polymers as well as the interaction between them. Therefore, many methods have been developed to prepare the composites of NPs and polymers in order to obtain the function expected. In this review, we mainly focus on the combination of in situ method with other methods to synthesize different functional one-dimension, two-dimension as well as bulk composites, which has been recently developed by our group. The most striking character of our method is the excellent compatibility between NPs and polymers which ensures a homogeneous distribution of NPs in the polymer matrix. The existence of the polymer network makes the NPs more stable, and is significant for displaying their functions. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 2007CB936402, 20534040) and Science Foundation for Young Teachers of Northeast Normal University (Grant No. 20070306)     

Structures and properties of [CoPt/Ag]<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis></Subscript> multilayer fims

The magnetic properties and structures of [CoPt/Ag] _n , multilayer films deposited by DC magnetron sputtering have been studied. During the deposited process, two kinds of deposited sequences, that is Ag layer (FDAG) first deposited or CoPt layer (FDCP) first deposited, have been chosen. The results show that the microstructures and coercivities were strongly influenced by the deposited sequence and the thickness of films. The coercivities of [Ag/CoPt] _n with FDAG are obviously higher than those of [CoPt/Ag] _n with FDCP. Especially, when the thickness of films is 8 nm, the difference of coercivities between the FDAG film and the FDCP film is the largest. It is possibly because Ag plays a role of underlayer in FDAG multilayers, which can induce both the transformation from fcc to fct and the oriented growth along c-axis. In addition, δM curves reveal that the [CoPt/Ag]₈ multilayer, film has a lower intergrain interaction than the CoPt/Ag bilayer film.     

Spontaneous Magnetic Transitions and Corresponding Magnetoelastic Properties of Intermetallic Compounds <Emphasis Type="Italic">R</Emphasis>Mn<Subscript>2</Subscript>Ge<Subscript>2</Subscript> (<Emphasis Type="Italic">R</Emphasis>=Gd,Tb and Dy)

The spontaneous magnetic transitions and corresponding magnetoelastic properties of intermetallic compounds RMn₂Ge₂ (R=Gd, Tb and Dy) were investigated by using the X-ray diffraction method and magnetic measurement. The results showed that the compounds experience two magnetic transitions, namely the second-order paramagnetic to antiferromagnetic transition at temperature T_N (T_N=368, 423 and 443 K for GdMn₂Ge₂, TbMn₂Ge₂ and DyMn₂Ge₂, respectively) and the first-order antiferromagnetic - ferrimagnetic transition at temperature T_t (T_t=96, 80 and 40 K for GdMn₂Ge₂, TbMn₂Ge₂ and DyMn₂Ge₂, respectively) as the temperature decreases. The temperature dependence of the lattice constant a(T) displays a negative magnetoelastic anomaly at the second-order transition point T_N and, at the first-order transition T_t, a increases abruptly for GdMn₂Ge₂ and TbMn₂Ge₂, Δa/a about 10^-3. Nevertheless, the lattice constant c almost does not change at these transition points indicating that such magnetoelastic anomalies are mainly contributed by the Mn-sublattice. The transitions of the magnetoelastic properties are also evidenced on the temperature dependence of magnetic susceptibility χ. The first-order transition behavior at T_t is explained by the Kittel mode of exchange inversion.     

Preliminary biocompatibility evaluation of regenerated <Emphasis Type="Italic">Antheraea yamamai</Emphasis> Silk Fibroin <Emphasis Type="Italic">in vitro</Emphasis>

The study aimed to investigate the adhesion, morphology and proliferation of Sprague Dawley (SD) albino rat bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) by inverted microscope, cell counting, MTT test and laser scanning confocal microscop (LSCM). On the regenerated A yamamai SF film or blend films, the cell morphology was almost the same as that on collagen (collagen type I) film, the cell adhesion rate was higher than that on plastic cell plate and B mori SF film after 1 h (p < 0.01) of culture, and the cell proliferation was significantly higher than that on collagen film (p < 0.01) and plastic cell plate (p < 0.01), and also obviously better than that on B mori SF film. On the other hand, the viability of BMSCs in the regenerated A yamamai SF porous scaffold was better than that in B mori SF porous scaffold and medical grade polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) sponge.     

Performance of an activated carbon made from waste palm shell in simultaneous adsorption of SO<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript> and NO<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript> of flue gas at low temperature

This study examined the individual and simultaneous adsorption of SO{in{itx}} (SO{in{it2}}) and NO{in{itx}} (NO-NO{in{it2}}) on activated carbon prepared from waste palm shell. The adsorption process was examined in a fixed bed reactor at low temperatures (100\2-300\dgC). For individual adsorption without any catalytic activation, SO{in{itx}} showed good adsorption whereas NO{in{itx}} was very much poor. In the simultaneous adsorption of SO{in{itx}} and NO{in{itx}}, SO{in{itx}} showed greater adsorption affinity than NO{itx}. For palm shell activated carbon (PSAC) impregnated with metal catalyst (Ni and Ce) the concentration adsorbed profile showed that the amount of SO{in{itx}} adsorbed decreased regularly, while the amount of the adsorbed NO{in{itx}} increased irregularly. The properties of the pure and impregnated PSAC were analyzed by BET, SEM and EDX. These investigations indicated that PSAC impregnated with metal catalyst is the determining factor in the adsorption of SO{in{itx}} and NO{in{itx}} simultaneously. Supported financially by Yayasan FELDA, Malaysia (Grant No. 6050075)     

Influence of TiX (<Emphasis Type="Italic">X</Emphasis>=B<Subscript>2</Subscript> or N) addition on the interfacial microstructure features of CBN grains and AgCuTi composite filler

Joining experiments of CBN grains to AISI 1045 steel were conducted using Ag-Cu-Ti composite fillers containing TiX (X=B₂ or N) particles at 920 °C for 5 min. The influences of TiB₂ and TiN particles on the interfacial microstructure features between CBN and filler were investigated comparatively. The experimental results show that TiN particles are more effective than TiB₂ ones to control the interfacial reaction and particularly the resultants. Thermodynamic analysis reveals that the varied interfacial reaction induced by the addition of TiB₂ and TiN particles is mainly atttributed to the activity change of the B and Ti elements in the brazing reaction system.