Electrochemical behaviour of Al, Al–Sn, Al–Zn and Al–Zn–Sn alloys in chloride solutions containing indium ions

The electrochemical behaviour of pure aluminium and three of its alloys were investigated in 0.6m NaCl in the presence and absence of In3+ ions. The study comprised polarization and potentiostatic current–time measurements complemented by SEM–EDAX investigation. In 0.6m NaCl the corrosion resistance of the alloys decreases in the following order: Al < Al–Sn < Al–ZnAl–Zn–Sn. The addition of In3+ ions to the test electrolyte revealed activation of pure Al which increases with increase of In3+ concentration. Similar results were obtained for the binary Al–Zn and the ternary Al–Zn–Sn alloys, while Al–Zn alloy displayed a higher activation effect with In3+. It is also concluded that the existence of Zn either as an alloying element or present as a cation in the electrolyte leads to an enhanced activity of aluminium in presence of In3+ ions. Deactivation is observed in the case of Al–Sn alloy on addition of In3+ because tin retards the diffusion pathway of In to the bulk alloy, in addition to the presence of iron as an impurity in the alloy.     

Correlating the microstructure of Mn–Zn ferrite with magnetic noise for magnetic shield applications

Many sensitive atomic devices require magnetic shield to reduce external magnetic field interference. Mn–Zn ferrites are optimistic candidates for shielding because they provide a high shielding factor and a low magnetic noise. This study evaluated the magnetic noise of Mn–Zn ferrite magnetic shield based on its grain size. The morphologies of Mn–Zn ferrite samples were characterized to establish a correlation between their grain sizes and magnetic permeability, which can be used to calculate magnetic noises. The correlation was then used to evaluate the shielding performance of another Mn–Zn ferrite, where the magnetic noise of the magnetic shield made from the ferrite was calculated to be 2.53 f ^−1/2fT. The magnetic noise of the magnetic shield was also measured experimentally using a spin-exchange relaxation-free atomic magnetometer. The measured magnetic noise of ferrite shield was 2.61 f ^−1/2fT, while the white noise of the atomic magnetometer was 0.71 fT/Hz^1/2 below 100 Hz. The consistency between the experimental results and predicted values suggests the viability of the proposed approach, providing a convenient, efficient, and precise method for developing ferrite ceramics materials for low-noise magnetic shields.     

Preparation and characterization of alkali-free glass substrates with enhanced properties for TFT–LCDs applications

To obtain an alkali-free glass substrate with enhanced properties for thin-film transistor–liquid crystal displays (TFT–LCDs) applications, we chose a base glass composed of 3B₂O₃-15Al₂O₃-58SiO₂-22MgO-0.5SrO-1.5MgF₂ (mol%) for nucleation–crystallization. The results show that when the nucleation–crystallization processes of the base glass are 810 °C/6 h + 880 °C/6–9 h, the prepared GC/6–GC/9 glass-ceramics exhibit enhanced properties because of the precipitation of nano-sized cordierite. The transmittances in the visible range of the GC/6–GC/9 glass-ceramics exceed 85%, the densities are 2.564–2.567 g/cm³, thermal expansion coefficients are 2.934–3.059 × 10^-6/°C (25–300 °C), compressive strengths are 417–589 MPa, bending strengths are 141–259 MPa, Vickers hardnesses are 6.8–7.8 GPa, and strain points are approximately 735 °C. Considering these properties, the prepared GC/6–GC/9 glass-ceramics have good potential as candidate materials for alkali-free glass substrates. Additionally, these results demonstrate that it is feasible to improve the properties of alkali-free glass substrates by nucleation–crystallization.     

Investigation of immiscible Sn–Zn coatings with two-layer microstructure as anode material for Li-ion battery

The exfoliation of Sn as a result of volume expansion led to the drastic capacity decay in lithium-ion batteries. In this article, the immiscible Sn–Zn coating was successfully prepared by electrodeposition and applied as the anode material in Li-ion batteries. The physical structure and electrochemical properties were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, electron probe microanalysis and charge–discharge test, respectively. The Sn–Zn deposit displayed unique two-layer morphology composed of a Zn flat bottom layer and a Sn dendritic upper layer. The novel Sn–Zn electrodes showed noticeable improvement in cyclability compared to pure Sn film. This improvement was assigned to the characteristic of the two-layer microstructure: the Zn interlayer enhanced the binding strength between Sn dendrites and copper foil; the abundant space among these individual Sn dendrites accommodated the volume expansion during lithiation process. The two-layer Sn–Zn coatings were anticipated as potential anode materials for Li-ion batteries.     

Preparation of erythritol–graphite foam phase change composite with enhanced thermal conductivity for thermal energy storage applications

Three-dimensional interconnected graphite composite foam as a heat conductive matrix was fabricated by using low cost polymeric precursors and polyurethane (PU) foam as carbon source and sacrificial macroporous template, respectively. Erythritol–graphite foam as a stable composite phase change material (PCM) was obtained by incipient wetness impregnation method. The thermophysical properties such as thermal diffusivity, specific heat, thermal conductivity and latent heat of the erythritol–graphite composite foam were measured. From the results, it was found that the thermal conductivity of the erythritol–graphite composite foam (3.77 W/mK) was enhanced 5 times as compared with that of pristine erythritol (0.72 W/mK). This enhancement can significantly reduce the charging and discharging times of the PCM storage system. There is no chemical reaction between erythritol and graphite as confirmed by X-ray diffractometer (XRD). The PCM/foam composite has a melting point of 118 °C and latent heat of 251 J/g which corresponds to the mass percentage (75 wt.%) of the erythritol within the composite foam. The obtained results confirmed the feasibility of using erythritol–graphite foam as a new phase change composite for thermal energy storage (TES) applications, thus it can contribute to the efficient utilization and recovery of solar heat or industrial waste heat.     

Enhanced optical properties of ZnS–rGO nanocomposites for ultraviolet detection applications

In this research, fabrication and characterization of ultraviolet (UV) detectors based on zinc sulfide–reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanocomposite with the focus on the wurtzite structure of zinc sulfide was carried out. The nanoparticles of ZnS were synthesized using chemical deposition method and annealed at 500?°C under flow of argon. X-ray diffraction pattern showed that ZnS with the wurtzite phase was formed at 500?°C. Here, rGO as a unique material with similar properties to graphene such as high electron transport was used in order to improve the optical properties of ZnS. For this purpose, rGO was added to ZnS with three different weight percentages of 5, 10 and 15. Scanning electron microscopy showed that ZnS nanoparticles were well placed in rGO sheets. The UV–visible spectra of the synthesized composites showed that with increasing rGO in composite, light absorption is increased. Photoluminescence (PL) spectra also showed that with increasing the percentage of rGO the generation of electron-hole in composite was increased and PL peak was enhanced. The effect of elevated generation of electron-hole pairs was apparent in optoelectrical properties of fabricated UV detectors based on the sample with higher concentration of rGO in composite. For this sample, the response time was decreased to 310 ms, and the sensitivity to UV irradiation was increased by 7.7 times.     

Controllable synthesis and electrochemical hydrogen storage properties of Sb₂Se₃ ultralong nanobelts with urchin-like structures

The controlled synthesis of one-dimensional and three-dimensional Sb(2)Se(3) nanostructures has been achieved by a facile solvothermal process in the presence of citric acid. By simply controlling the concentration of citric acid, the nucleation, growth direction and exposed facet can be readily tuned, which brings the different morphologies and nanostructures to the final products. The as-prepared products have been characterized by means of X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution TEM and selected area electron diffraction. Based on the electron microscope observations, a possible growth mechanism of Sb(2)Se(3) with distinctive morphologies including ultralong nanobelts, hierarchical urchin-like nanostructures is proposed and discussed in detail. The electrochemical hydrogen storage measurements reveal that the morphology plays a key role on the hydrogen storage capacity of Sb(2)Se(3) nanostructures. The Sb(2)Se(3) ultralong nanobelts with high percentage of {-111} facets exhibit higher hydrogen storage capacity (228.5 mA h g(-1)) and better cycle stability at room temperature.     

Microstructure and performance of brazed diamonds with multilayer graphene-modified Cu–Sn–Ti solder alloys

This study aims to improve the hardness of solidified Cu–Sn–Ti solder alloys and reduce the erosion of diamonds caused by these solder alloys during brazing. To achieve this aim, a new type of multilayer graphene-modified Cu–Sn–Ti composite solder alloy was proposed for brazing diamonds. The brazed diamond specimens were subjected to morphological observation, characterization of the interfacial microstructures. The static compressive strength and impact toughness of brazed diamond grits were measured. The Vickers microhardness of the solidified solder alloy was quantified, and the microstructure of the solidified solder alloy was also analysed. The results show that brazed diamond specimens fabricated with the No. 2 composite alloy containing 1 wt% multilayer graphene exhibited the best morphology. Addition of excess multilayer graphene reduced the flow properties of the molten Cu–Sn–Ti composite solder alloy. The dominant phases in the solidified Cu–Sn–Ti solder alloys were α-(Cu), Sn₃Ti₅, and CuSn₃Ti₅. Cu, Sn, and Ti were adsorbed by the multilayer graphene, forming C-rich and TiC-dominant phases. Consequently, erosion of the diamonds was reduced during brazing, and TiC was formed in the solidified solder alloy. Thus, increasing the content of multilayer graphene enhanced the static compressive strength and impact toughness of the brazed diamond grits, and increased the hardness of the solidified Cu–Sn–Ti solder alloy.     

Pretreatment of wastewater by vacuum freezing system in a cool–thermal storage process

Pretreatment of wastewater by freezing under vacuum in a cool–thermal storage process was investigated. Analyses of vacuum freezing and zone melting were made for the estimation of the ice thickness and the solute distribution of ice crystals from which optimum solidification thickness and operating time were determined. It was found that ice sublimation rate played an important role in determining the efficiency and the pay-off of the process.     

Adhesion evaluation of different bioceramic coatings on Mg–Ca alloys for biomedical applications

The aim of this study was to evaluate the adhesion of different bioceramic coatings deposited by radio frequency magnetron sputtering on the biodegradable implant-type magnesium–calcium (MgCa) alloys. Hydroxyapatite (HA) and bioactive glass (BG) were chosen as coating materials, due to their remarkable biological potential. The morphology, composition, structure and adhesion of the deposited thin coatings was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, grazing incidence X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and pull-out adherence measurements. A variation of the coating-to-substrate adhesion has been recorded and correlated with the physico-chemical results. The bonding strength values of the coatings were promising (being superior to the ISO13779-2:2008 fabrication standard for load-bearing biomedical coatings), and thus, encourage us to further proceed with the biological evaluation of the HA or BG coatings-MgCa substrate couples.     

New data on arsenic sorption properties of Zn–Al sulphate layered double hydroxides: Influence of competition with other anions

The adequacy of synthetic Zn–Al-sulphate LDHs to remove arsenic from aqueous systems was tested through sorption experiments, using a series of aqueous solutions with dissolved HAsO₄^2 − together with other anions (Cl⁻, SO₄^2 −, MoO₄^2 −, HCO₃⁻, CO₃^2 −) to assess their competition influence on the As removing process. The competitors were added into the solution both simultaneously and afterwards with respect to HAsO₄^2 − in order to verify the effectiveness and the possible reversibility of the As sorption process. The results showed that only carbonates species, in particular in the fully deprotonated form CO₃^2 −, affect significantly the otherwise high efficacy of the sorption process. In fact, up to ~ 90% of HAsO₄^2 − can be removed from the solution, decreasing to ~ 60% in the presence of CO₃^2 −, whilst up to ~ 30% of HAsO₄^2 − can be desorbed when CO₃^2 − is added afterwards into the solution. Considering the very restricted range of pH where HAsO₄^2 − and CO₃^2 − are simultaneously the predominant species in the solution (~ 10 < pH < ~ 11.5), Zn–Al-sulphate LDHs could be successfully used for the treatment of As contaminated waters with pH ranging from circum-neutral to moderately alkaline.     

Transparent Al–In–Zn–O Oxide semiconducting films with various in composition for thin-film transistor applications

Al–In–Zn–O thin-film transistors were fabricated. To examine the effect of In composition, we adopted a co-sputtering method using Al–Zn–O and In₂O₃ targets. The sputtering power of In₂O₃ was varied to 200, 150, and 50 W. The mobility and turn-on voltage of each device were 27.8 cm²V⁻¹ s⁻¹ and −4.2 V, 4.5 cm²V⁻¹ s⁻¹ and −3.5 V, 0.7 cm²V⁻¹ s⁻¹ and −3 V, respectively. We also investigated instabilities under negative gate bias stress (NBS) and negative bias illumination stress (NBIS). While the NBS was not influenced by the In contents, the NBIS characteristics were optimized for the device with In₂O₃ sputtering at 150 W.     

Synthesis of SiC precursors by a two-step sol–gel process and their conversion to SiC powders

A two-step sol–gel processing was developed to synthesize phenolic resin–SiO₂ hybrid gels as SiC precursors, with tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and novolac phenolic resin being the starting materials, and oxalic acid (OA) and hexamethylenetetramine (HMTA) being the catalysts. At the first step TEOS was prehydrolyzed under the catalysis of OA. At the second step HMTA was added to facilitate gelation. The influences of the molar ratio of OA/TEOS and prehydrolysis time on the sol–gel reaction were investigated. There existed an optimum OA/TEOS ratio where prehydrolysis time needed to form transparent gels was the shortest. The increase of temperature could accelerate sol–gel reaction. The dried hybrid gels were yellowish transparent glassy solids, with uniform microstructure composed of nanometer-sized particles. The conversion of the gels to silicon carbide powders was complete when heated at 1650°C for 30 min in vacuum. The oxygen and free carbon were 0.43 and 0.50 wt%, respectively, in the powder produced from the gel prepared with starting resin/TEOS being 0.143 g/ml.     

Effect of heat treatment on the mechanical properties of PIP–SiC/SiC composites fabricated with a consolidation process

Continuous SiC fiber reinforced SiC matrix composites (SiC/SiC) have been considered as candidates for heat resistant and nuclear materials. Three-dimensional (3D) SiC/SiC composites were fabricated by the polymer impregnation and pyrolysis (PIP) method with a consolidation process, mechanical properties of the composites were found to be significantly improved by the consolidation process. The SiC/SiC composites were then heat treated at 1400 °C, 1600 °C and 1800 °C in an inert atmosphere for 1 h, respectively. The effect of heat treatment temperature on the mechanical properties of the composites was investigated, the mechanical properties of the SiC/SiC composites were improved after heat treatment at 1400 °C, and conversely decreased with increased heat treatment temperature. Furthermore, the effect of heat treatment duration on the properties of the SiC/SiC composites was studied, the composites exhibited excellent thermal stability after heat treatment at 1400 °C within 3 h.     

Electrodeposition and characterization of Zn–Ni alloys as sublayers for epoxy coating deposition

The chemical composition and phase structure of Zn–Ni alloys obtained by electrodeposition under various conditions were investigated. The influence of the deposition solution and deposition current density on the composition, phase structure, current efficiency and corrosion properties of Zn–Ni alloys were examined. It was shown that the chemical composition and phase structure affect the anticorrosive properties of Zn–Ni alloys. A Zn–Ni alloy electrodeposited from a chloride solution at 20 mA cm^–2 exhibited the best corrosion properties, so this alloy was chosen for further examination. Epoxy coatings were formed by cathodic electrodeposition of an epoxy resin on steel and steel modified with a Zn–Ni alloy. From the time dependence of the pore resistance, coating capacitance and relative permittivity of the epoxy coating, the diffusion coefficient of water through the epoxy coating, D(H₂O), and its thermal stability, it was shown that the Zn–Ni sublayer significantly affects the electrochemical and transport properties, as well as the thermal stability of epoxy coatings. On the basis of the experimental results it can be concluded that modification of a steel surface by a Zn–Ni alloy improves the corrosion protection of epoxy coatings.     

A study of the structural and morphological properties of Ni–ferrite,Zn–ferrite and Ni–Zn–ferrites functionalized with starch

Zinc–ferrite, nickel–ferrite and mixed nickel–zinc ferrites were successfully synthesized via the thermal decomposition method from acetylacetonate complexes. To control the particle size and enhance dispersibility in an aqueous medium, starch, a natural and biocompatible compound, was used for the first time for coating such magnetic powders. X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) was performed to study the structural properties of all samples. The presence of a single-phase spinel structure as well as the cation distribution in both sites of all investigated magnetic powders was confirmed. The values of unit cell parameters obtained from the results of the Rietveld analysis decreased, while the average crystallite size increased with increasing Ni²⁺ content. The average microstrain parameters unambiguously showed a change in the spinel structure with cation distribution. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analyses were also utilized to characterize the synthesized materials, corroborating the XRPD data. The obtained results indicated that functionalization by starch was successfully achieved.     

Enhanced electrical transport properties of Cr-substituted Mg2–Y-type hexaferrites for power applications

The impact of Cr³⁺ substitution on the electrical and dielectric properties of Y-type hexaferrites with composition Ba₂Mg₂Cr_xFe_12-xO₂₂ (x = 0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0) was synthesized by the sol-gel auto combustion technique. The lattice parameters 'a' and 'c' slightly increase with the substitution content of Cr³⁺, and some other physical parameters, including porosity, microstrain, dislocation density, specific surface area, and stacking fault coefficient, were determined from XRD data. FTIR spectra confirm the formation of iron oxide base material by the appearance of three signature bands at precisely 429, 474, and 499 cm^-1 due to Fe–O vibrations at octahedral and tetrahedral sites. Substituting Cr³⁺ at the octahedral site enhanced the room temperature DC electrical resistivity from 6.89 × 10⁹ to 2.27 × 10¹⁰ Ω-cm. Temperature-dependent DC electrical resistivity exhibits semiconducting behavior. There is a direct relation between resistivity and activation energy. The dielectric behavior of Cr³⁺ substituted samples in the frequency range of 1 MHz–6 GHz was understood based on the conduction mechanism through the hopping of electrons between Fe³⁺ and Fe²⁺ ions and the Maxwell-Wagner Model. In impedance spectroscopy studied using Cole-Cole plots, most dielectric response arises from the contribution of the grain boundary effect. With the substitution of Cr^3+, dielectric losses decreased. A very high Q-value around 1 GHz was observed, suggesting that these hexaferrites are efficient materials for many high-frequency applications, such as multi-layer chip inductors (MLCI), dielectric resonators, and power applications.